


Tempora Finis

by SirRealArthurNudge



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2020-10-04 07:29:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 30,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20467307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirRealArthurNudge/pseuds/SirRealArthurNudge
Summary: Six years have passed since the long war. Six years of rebuilding; both Fódlan and the Blue Lions respective families. On the eve of the seventh year, the just turned five years old Crown Prince disappears; an event that leads to the truth of the stories hidden within the history of the Church.





	1. Disappearance

“I hate this.”

  
Dimitri sighed, his breath warming his wife’s light green hair, as he heard her muffled words.

  
“Temporary as you keep insisting,” he murmured, feeling Byleth’s arms tighten around his waist as her face buried itself further into the soft warm fabric of his tunic.

  
“I know. I just… hate this separation.”

  
Dimitri pulled her back from his embrace gently, wiping a stray tear that had escaped her right eye with the glove covered thumb of his left hand. “The Church demands its Archbishop. I demand my Queen. And Nikolai needs his mother. Do what needs to be done here then come home.  
He quickly pressed a kiss to his wife’s eager lips before he stepped away and hoisted himself into the saddle of his steed. “I’m sorry, beloved, but if we don’t start out for Fhirdiad now, I’ll be late to our son’s birthday. He should have one parent for this occasion.”

  
“You have his gifts?”

  
“Of course. Secured to the saddle.”

  
“You have the letter too? You promise to read it to him? And the stories I sent?”

  
Dimitri laughed softly. “I have them all and I will. But I fear I’m a poor substitute for you.”

  
Byleth shook her head. “This conclave will not last much longer. I’ll be on the road before the end of this week.”

  
Dimitri shifted his weight dangerously in the saddle until he could reach down to his far shorter wife. He pressed a quick kiss to Byleth’s forehead before murmuring, “See you soon.”

With a well-placed but gentle nudge of his heels into his horse’s flank, the King and his retinue strode off from Garreg Mach, leaving a distraught Byleth behind to watch as they disappeared into the distance.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mercedes watched the pensive little boy curled up at the window with a now-familiar sadness.

  
There was no doubt from the moment of his birth who was his father; with his shock of blonde hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to almost swallow up most of his face.  
To Mercedes amusement, he’d inherited more than just Dimitri’s looks. Nikolai was the most serious and dour little boy she’d ever met.  
Today was his fifth birthday and so far he’d spent the majority of it sitting at this window. Waiting she knew. Waiting for his parents had become a regular occurrence to him.

  
King Dimitri was needed practically across the entire continent of Fódlan while Byleth was constantly being dragged back to Garreg Mach for one thing or another.  
That left little Nikolai alone and the child was feeling it today in particular.

  
“Nikolai?” she called softly, smiling brightly as the boy looked over his shoulder at her. “I was hoping you might like some dinner. I made your favorite! And... there might be some lovely cake for after.”

  
She watched the boy hesitate, his torn emotions flickering across his tiny face, before he replied softly, “I’m waiting for Dadda.”

  
“I know. He’ll be here soon. Let’s just go to the dining hall. We’ll be able to see him arriving from there.”

  
Mercedes knew immediately that there was no winning this one as a deep furrow crossed Nikolai’s brow as he pondered those words carefully. That look she knew all too well. His little mind was processing an answer involving the word “no”. “Okay. How about… we have some dinner here? Make it an indoor picnic!”

  
That did the trick as little Nikolai beamed and nodded his eager agreement. Mercedes sighed quietly, watching as the child returned to his quiet vigil of the palace gates while he waited eagerly for his father’s arrival home.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But his father didn’t arrive. By the time it was the young prince’s bedtime, it wasn’t Dimitri that carried him to his room or read him a story.  
His nanny had tucked him into bed, chatted for a short time before restocking the small fire in the ornate fireplace to keep the cold at bay for the night at least.  
She’d left shortly afterward, leaving Nikolai alone with his soft toys and his thoughts. He knew he shouldn't be upset – Nanny had told him often enough that he

needed to be strong; that crying would embarrass his parents and ancestors. After that talk, he kept all his thoughts to himself, so that his parents would still love him and not know his shame. Nanny was always... right.  
Nikolai buried his face into the pillow as the sniffles started. The tears he’d tried so hard to keep within broke free and spilled down onto his soft downy pillow. The all too familiar tiny hiccups started soon after as he tried to stop it all.

  
“Don’t cry. You’re not alone, little one.”

  
Nikolai shot upright at the deep voice that resonated around his small room, his little chest rising and falling rapidly with fear. His eyes blearily peered through the patches of light and dark of his room to find the owner of the voice but there was no one to be seen.  
“Who is there?”

  
“I am.”

  
Nikolai blinked, his toddler mind processing the disembodied voice's words. “I’m… I’m Nikolai.”

“I know.”

  
“Who are you?”

  
“A friend. Say… would you like to play a game, Nikolai? Games always make me feel better and I'm sure it will help you too.”

  
The little boy peered around at the shadows dancing on the walls; elongated shapes that danced and flickered as they were cast there from the glowing fire. “Sure. But I can’t see you. How do we play a game?”

  
To his confusion, the shadows on the wall began to move and merge together. Nikolai’s voice stuck in his throat with fear as the shadows finally formed the outline of a man who reached out with a pitch-black hand.

  
“Here I am. Let’s play some hide and seek, shall we? I promise you it'll be such fun! ”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dimitri was exhausted by the time he arrived in the courtyard.  
He was so tired in fact that he shrugged off his typical "arrival home” tasks; even leaving the tending of his prized horse to the stable boys to Dedue's amusement.

It was late. Too damn late. He’d missed Nikolai’s birthday entirely. Even now he could see the new day’s light cresting the distant hills. Soon morning will be fully upon them.

Striding through the palace's doors with Dedue in close step, he'd decided on the first part of his day at least. He’d collect Nikolai from his room and bring him to his own. There they would rest together in what was Dimitri’s increasingly empty bed devoid of his wife until late morning.

  
There he would listen patiently to Nikolai’s chatter, with the aim of hopefully gleaming from his son if there was anything in particular he wanted, before deciding on what he could do to make up his absence. A vague plan at least he mused.

  
“Your Highness!!!” The shriek of Mercedes nearly went through Dimitri's eardrums.

  
“Goddess!” he groaned. “Try not to wake the entire household! What's wrong?”

  
“It's Nikolai! He's gone!”

  
Dimitri stalled entirely, his body frozen in place. “Sorry?”

  
Mercedes started to babble, tears threatening to flow freely down her face. “He went to bed. His nanny confirmed it. I went to check on him this morning and... he's gone. There's nothing there!! No windows open; no doors unlocked!! The guards on watch outside his door didn't see anyone enter!!!”

  
For the King, time stopped it seemed. Every fear and nightmare he'd had since Byleth had first told him she expected their child had suddenly merged into an immense black wave that hovered over him.

Before it could crash down and destroy what remained of his fragile sanity, Dedue was in motion. He pushed Dimitri forward.

  
“We must go to the room. Confirm what has happened. Quickly, your Highness!”


	2. Discovery

Nothing seems out of place," Dedue said out loud, more to himself then to his King who was over near the small bed. "Doesn't appear to be any signs of a struggle. But then, Prince Nikolai is still so young. Perhaps he was taken by surprise. Or even while he rested."

  
Dedue turned his attention to the windows, missing the flinch of his King as he mentioned the boy being taken unawares.

  
Dimitri ran his hand carefully along the dark blue fluffy blankets, fingertips grazing lightly the scrunched up outline of where his son had once laid safe and secure underneath them.

  
He closed his remaining good eye as he tried to close out the myriad voices telling him how cold the bed was and how heavy was Nikolai's absence. _It was so cold outside_ they whispered incessantly. If the boy was out in the wilderness then he was likely dead or close to it. And if Dedue's assumption were correct, what would kidnappers do to the young Crown Prince?

  
The breath he didn't even realise he was holding in was suddenly and forcefully expelled from his lungs as his anger bubbled up. This would not stand. Nikolai would be found safe and returned to him. Or by the goddess, there would be nothing in this world that could sate his rage.

  
Dimitri broke away from his reverie and began to aid Dedue's search in earnest. He yanked back the covers from the bed entirely and found... the lion. He grabbed it tightly, gazing into the empty button eyes set in the deep cream fabric, the stitched smile of the toy appearing to laugh at him. Dimitri had given this to his son on his first birthday and had felt immeasurable pride when it had almost immediately become Nikolai's favorite toy, outdoing even his beloved Byleth's effort.

  
"Dedue!" he barked. "Look."

  
"Ah. The lion you gave him."

  
"Nikolai goes nowhere willingly without this. A clue perhaps."

  
His companion nodded slightly. "I believe it is. The windows are tightly sealed with untouched snows on the ledges. If he was taken, it was not through here."

  
Dimitri, with lion still clutched firmly in hand, flickered a quick gaze around. "The fire is still smoldering. Far too hot for anyone foolhardy to attempt scaling the chimney. And the door connecting to my rooms I had locked prior to leaving. There is no other key."

  
Dedue huffed. "Which leaves..."

  
"The main door," they said in unison.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Byleth sat quietly at her father's graveside and idly picked at the small weeds and debris.

The monastery was still rebuilding and at quite a pace. It had almost resembled what she remembered when she'd first arrived here so many years ago. This place had once meant so much to her back then. The first almost permanent stop in the long series of hovels and small villages that her father's mercenary outfit used to briefly rest at before moving on.

  
Once she never would have thought of leaving here and now all she wanted was to go and return... home. Home was not here anymore. It was far to the frigid north where her little boy and husband were surely up to no good in her absence.

  
Byleth gave a shuddering sigh. Sometimes it felt almost as though she was being tortured.

  
Seteth insisted on this conclave, this far too grandiose meeting to appoint new bishops and clergy. Days of inconsequential meetings with so many different people that their faces and names had merged into shapeless masses in her memory.

  
"ARCHBISHOP!!!"

  
Byleth's eyes rolled back in her head at the sound of Aois's call. Couldn't she get just a few minutes of peace?

  
"I'm here!" she finally called out. "What's wrong? Have they started the doctrine discussion already?"

  
Aois arrived hurriedly, breathless from his sprint, and wordlessly handed over a folded parchment with the royal seal of Faerghus clearly placed on it in haste.

  
Byleth stared at it wordlessly, her hands that clutched it close shaking a little, as suddenly her whole world felt so deeply ominous. "It was sent by wyvern from the capital. Urgent," Alois finally gasped out.

After summoning her courage, Byleth opened it.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The city was in an uproar.

News of the Crown Prince's disappearance had spread like wildfire. Many took to the search, scouring the hidden alleyways, canals and winding paths of the capital in case the young Nikolai had stumbled down into them.

  
For their part, Dedue had questioned every guard and servant, every possible person that might have seen someone acting strange. There was nothing. It had been a painfully normal day.

  
Dimitri took his search to the palace grounds. So many kings over time had added more and more to the already intricate gardens that the place was mostly a maze at this point. He'd known every pathway and dead-end in it from his days exploring it as a boy. He'd planned on doing the same with Nikolai but now...

  
It was Dedue that found him a few hours later plunging through another series of hedgerows that were covered in thick untouched snows.

  
"Your Highness!"

  
He peered around the corner, spotting the large Duscar man approaching rapidly.

  
"News?"

  
"Yes! There's been a sighting!"

  
"Where?"

  
Dedue merely gestured for his King to follow him. "We must reach the horses. I'll explain as we go!"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you certain of this?" Dimitri shouted at Dedue as their steeds raced along the old deserted road that led north of the city.

  
"That's what they said. I've no reason to believe they lied to us. They were very much disturbed by what they saw. In fact they didn't come to us over Nikolai as they didn't even know he was missing."

  
Dimitri turned his focus back on the road and attempted to calm his rapidly beating heart.  
A group of hunters had returned in some distress from an expedition north. They claimed to have seen a boy, a toddler no less, at an old abandoned shrine that lay near the old northern route out of Fhirdiad. Dimitri wasn't as familiar with the path as it was now mainly disused except by hunters or treasure hunters attempting to make their fortunes.

  
The shrine he knew of. His own father had told him tales when he was just a small boy himself and had warned him never to go there. At least he believed it was the same one from the tales. He urged his horse onwards, desperate to find out if the hunters were telling the truth and if they were, was it Nikolai?

  
As the abandoned shrine came into view, Dimitri was struck by how imposing the structure was despite its decay. The entire countryside was dusted in the thick layers of snow they found in the capital but here instead of fine houses and watchtowers peeking through the frost, heavy stone columns towered above them. The main structure appeared mostly intact but minus the roof which had collapsed a long time ago.

  
As the horses skidded to a halt, Dimitri leaped off eagerly and set off at a run for the main structure. Even if Nikolai was not within it, he could still use it's height advantage to assess the land around for any signs.

  
He heard Dedue's shouted complaints behind him as he sprinted ahead, clearing the steps upwards in sets of four apiece.

  
Dimitri came to a sudden halt at the door, causing Dedue to nearly run into him entirely.

  
"Your Highness..." Dedue panted. "... please... don't run off... how can I assure your safety if-"

  
Dimitri swiftly raised a hand to silence his companion. "Look..." he whispered. "Can you see the light?"

  
Dedue peered into the dark and spotted what Dimitri was referring to. "Yes, I see it."

  
"Let's go inside. Please... prepare for the worst," Dimitri replied softly as he took point.

The hallway leading within was not complicated, a straight line to the central chamber. As they got closer they could see a convulsing pool of a black viscous liquid that churned and arbitrarily cast out orbs of light that faded shortly after their creation. These were the source of light they had spotted and now followed.

  
Dimitri stepped out into the chamber and froze, blue eye wide and voice caught in his throat.

It was his companion that broke the silence.

"Nikolai!!"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The boy appeared asleep, still in his nightclothes but now suspended above the churning pool in a haphazard bubble of the same black liquid that boiled beneath. Flashes of strange archaic symbols rumbled across the shimmering surface, breaking its flow and allowing them to see the boy curled up within. Whispering voices echoed faintly from the pool in languages unrecognizable to either Dedue or Dimitri.

  
"Goddess... what has happened here..." Dedue gasped.

  
His King didn't hear him, his gaze was focused on the small and distant body of his young son. "My boy... my poor boy!"


	3. Nemesis

"Your Grace! Thank goodness you've come!"

Byleth spotted the owner of the voice that called to her and gave a slightly grim tight-lipped smile to her welcoming party of Dedue. He greeted her at the ruin outskirts at dusk, his large body framed by the setting sun and the myrid camp fires that burned to keep the place warm.  
Not wanting to waste time, Byleth kept up the pace she arrived at while, for his part, the taller man fell into lock-step with her easily, his longer legs clearing the distance far easier than hers ever could.

The ruins were more alive than they had been in the previous centuries; filled with soldiers, scholars, and the make-shift encampments that housed them.

It had been a mere day, if not even, since they found Nikolai within his strange prison. In the intervening timeframe, King Dimitri had given few orders, the first of which was to direct Felix Fraldarius to take over the day-to-day running of his vast kingdom for the moment while he focused on what was needed to free his trapped son.

Byleth had arrived with all haste that morning after travelling since the previous day to her own advisor's dismay. She'd told Seteth in no uncertain terms that any advice he would give that didn't include_ "Go home and ensure that Nikolai is safe"_ would be ignored.

While the sight of Felix alone greeting her at the palace was not unexpected, the subsequent tale from him of where Dimitri and Dedue had found Nikolai certainly was.

"How is Dimitri?" she wearily asked Dedue, almost afraid of his answer.

"Focused. He hasn't left that room since we found the young prince. Well, except to..."

"To what?"

Dedue's tanned skin turned a distinct shade of pink. "... relieve himself, your Grace."

Byleth laughed, the sound disconcerting as she was started up the steps to the main building. "A moment of brevity among all this. Thank you, Dedue," she replied lightly. "And stop with the titles please. I can't deal with that right now. Just Byleth."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hallway leading to the central chamber was narrow and filled to the brim with people all working on trying to define what the symbols and mosaics on the walls meant. For a moment Byleth wondering how she could get through without losing her already frayed temper considering the circumstances. But it the ever watchful Dedue who solved that with no fuss. He bellowed out a warning and all stepped out of her way to let her pass.

As she entered the central stone room, her eyes immediately locked on her son hovering still with the strange black liquid ball above a pool filled with the same. He was mostly unmoving; curled up in his nightclothes while a maelstrom of black tarry liquid swept around him but never directly touched.

When she could finally tear her now tear-filled eyes away, they immediately found her husband instead. Although that was not difficult considering how easy it was to spot him among the small crowd that he towered above in height. His armour had been cast aside - propped up in fact next to a bedmat Dimitri had clearly used during the night. The underarmour vestments were covered by a more loose fitting pants and tunic to keep the cold out while his dishevelled blonde hair was tied back from his face.

Dimitri wasn't looking at her. He wasn't looking at anyone except their child trapped in the air above the pool.

"Dima," she called, her voice wobbling violently despite her best efforts.

Dimitri snapped back to reality at the sound of her voice and soon had swallowed her up into his arms before she could even register he was approaching. He lifted her clear off her feet, clinging her to him desperately.

"Beloved..." he whispered, his face buried in her neck.

"I'm here," was her urgent reply as she peppered the accessible side of his face and eyepatch with kisses. "I got your note and left immediately!"

Reluctantly Dimitri set her back on her feet. "They're trying to figure this out, see how to set him free but there's been no answers so far."

He took her hand in his firmly and led her to the pool's edge.

"How is he? Is he aware? Is... is he in pain?" she asked weakly.

Dimitri shook his head while his left hand carefully massaged the back of Byleth's slim neck. "No. He sleeps. Although he's whimpered a little during the night. Nightmares I think."

".. No..."

"He listens and responds. I talk to him when it starts and he calms. Nikolai knows we are here," Dimitri whispered as he nuzzled his wife's hair.

Byleth closed her eyes, bowed her head and began to rub the bridge of her nose. "Is there any-"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Keeper of Flames! At long last!!! I've been waiting for you. What took you so long?"

The deep echoing voice rumbled out from the tarry pool itself while the walls of the old temple shook and reveberated with each word. The dark liquid that swirled and churned before them began to protrude upwards until a distinctly human shape began to form and coalesce.

Dimitri grabbed Areadbhar from where it lay close to hand as the slick black creature stepped across the surface of the pool as though it was solid ground.

"Who are you? What have you done to my son?!" Byleth shouted with the Sword of the Creator in hand ready to strike.

"I've waited for him for a very long time. My dearest link to this world. Rest easy. I'm merely borrowing him right now."

As he spoke, the liquid peeled away like the skin from a fruit leaving a tall broad man standing before them nearly naked but for the remaining black liquid that oozed over his lower body. Thick blonde hair framed piercing blue eyes with a squarish jaw, a handsome face to be sure if not for the circumstances.

"You know, I do believe the boy got this from your father - Jeralt was his name, right?," the man chuckled as he dramatically protruded his jawline.

"You are not Nikolai," Dimitri growled, Areadbhar firmly in his grip and eager to strike. It was only Byleth's gentle hand on his forearm that stalled his attack.

The man beamed at him. "No but I am wearing his face. At least what he will look like when older. That's pretty much set in stone. Bar him breaking something dramatically, well... this is what you will get! While he slumbers, I'll be loaning his place and body in this world. A fair exchange I feel for my cres-"

The creature had stepped closer to the couple while he spoke but had suddenly stalled both movement and speech. He glanced down to find the sharp end of Areadbhar finally reaching its target and now firmly pressed into his abdomen.  
  
"Return my son. Now," Dimitri growled, his one eye almost burning with fury.

"Let me speak first. To you, holder of the Crest of Flames."

Byleth took her place next to Dimitri, sword too at the ready. "You briefly have my attention."

The creature wearing Nikolai's image beamed. "My name is Nemesis!" He frowned immediately spotting the shock on their faces. "Not the one you are thinking of clearly. Although I did know of that man and his thievery of my own name. He was not the right one to host it.."

Piercing blue eyes turned their gaze to the slumbering Nikolai. "... but that situation has now been solved." His attention snapped back when he felt the press of Areadbhar once more as it slid this time passed his relatively thin skin and edged closer to piercing what in a mortal would have been delicate life-sustaining organs. A black tar began to ooze out from the wound, coating Areadbhar's blade before falling to join the black liquid of the pool below Nemesis's feet.

"Tell me again why I shouldn't shove this in right now and end your grip on my son?" Dimitri hissed at him.

"Because the boy needs me. We need each other now. Until the time of ending has finished."

Nemesis turned his gaze to Byleth and again spoke to her alone;  
"_When cold grave bones flourish anew;_  
_A dead heart sparks new flames ascending;_  
_The door once locked becomes askew;_  
_And forth shall come the time of ending._"

He stared at her intently, almost seeming to look past her physical body and into what was within her soul. "She knows why I'm here. She knows that this can't be stopped because she's tried. To their detriment, her children are not half as clever as she was. Tell her... tell my sister that her brother sends his regards."

Nemesis suddenly lashed out with one hand, gripping Areadbhar's blade tightly and yanked it forward with fingers slicked with black blood further into his stomach.

He glared at Dimitri before he spoke softly, "I'm giving him back to you for now but he won't have left the shadow of my protection. To that end, I'd take a good look at him and the scars he bears on that small mortal frame. If you don't deal with the one who has hurt him then I will."

He suddenly let go of the blade and laughed. "You better catch."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nemesis vanished completely.

The dark viscous liquid that had surrounded him in both the pool and above it was suddenly replaced with crystal clear waters. A fact made clearer when Nikolai suddenly fell from the sky and plunged into its icy depths. He emerged shortly afterwards from below the surface with an entrance marked by wild desperate splashing. He was now wide awake, shivering, and gasping for breath.

Dimitri flung Areadbhar aside as he threw himself through the waters that to him were only thigh high before he snatched Nikolai into his arms almost as soon as he could touch him.

"It's okay... it's okay..." he crooned softly to his whimpering child as he waded back to the shore.

In the interim, Byleth had fetched Dimitri's fur cloak from where he'd discarded it and prepared for their arrival back. Before words could be shared, they began to strip the child of his clothes in preparation for being swaddled in his father's thick cloak to restore some heat back into his body.  
  
As the last layers of clothes was removed, Byleth noticed that Dimitri's hands had stilled and that he'd sucked in a breath that didn't seem to end.

"Dimitri?" she queried softly while her hands rubbed Nikolai's shaking upper arms to get some heat back into them.

The lone blue eye flickered to meet hers before he turned the disorientated child around. Byleth stilled herself before she reached out in horror and traced the long red lines that criss-crossed Nikolai's lower back and buttocks.  
The ice cold of the water had inflamed the wounds while increasing the skin's pallor. Now what once was mostly hidden was displayed prominently to all.

Dimitri pulled his son closer, pressing the small child against his chest as he started taking in deep calming breaths. He wordlessly mouthed a few words to his wife over the damp blonde hair of their toddler. This would have to be dealt with once they reached the safety of the palace.

Byleth after a moment to settle herself, took the heavy cloak and wrapped it around the boy himself; cocooning him almost within it. She pulled him gently back to sit on her folded legs that were crossed to form a seat to keep him from the stone floor while her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug.

"It's all okay," Dimitri soothed, his voice deliberately pitched to comfort while he started warming up Nikolai's ice-cold feet by placing them on his own bare chest under his tunic and rubbing them with his hands.

"Mama?" the boy finally spoke with a faint confusion as Byleth peppered his damp hair with kisses. "Da..da... ?"

"I'm here," Dimitri said with a gentle smile. "Are you okay?"

"I... where are we?"


	4. A Moment of Peace

Dimitri's breath fogged in the night air. They were moving back to the city, a decision both he and Byleth had made with no disagreement.

Once Nikolai's temperature was stabilized, they started out for home and what would be hopefully safety.

The ruins would remain occupied as the myriad researchers were now more fascinated than ever with the temple and what had occurred there. Dimitri had no issue with funding it, after all, Nikolai's safety might be tied to what they discover there.

His mind drifted back to the task at hand as his horse snorted and tugged at the reins, used to a faster pace than the one he was restraining it to. Dimitri wished more than anything that he could give in to those demands and race back to the city and the palace.

But with his wife seated side-saddle on the same horse and secured only by being surrounded by his arms with their child locked into her own, speed was not an option without putting at risk their safety. Not that they were too far out. Even now he could see the flickering lights of the city and recognized the dirt road with landmarks they were traveling on.

The snowing had stopped to his faint surprise and the skies instead were displaying a thick blanket of stars that stretched from horizon to horizon. Dimitri glanced down past his wife's soft lavender-scented hair to the tiny patch of blonde that marked where their boy was hidden amongst a pile of blankets. He smirked seeing a pair of big blue eyes staring up at the night sky.

"You know," Dimitri rumbled softly in his wife's ear, his smirk becoming a grin as he felt her shiver at his warm breath brushing her ear lobe, "It won't be too late when we arrive. Let's not waste the opportunity to have some time together as a family. He may need a little distraction."

"A late birthday party?"

"Something like that. What do you think?"

Dimitri closed his one good eye briefly with pleasure when Byleth gently rubbed her head off of his as she softly murmured her complete agreement.

"I have to look into those marks," he choked out suddenly, his voice becoming unexplainably weak as he was struck in his mind's eye by the injuries they saw to Nikolai's body. "Goddess forgive me but they looked like-"

Byleth finished his sentence quickly. "Caning marks. As though he was struck with a cane."

He nodded, his eye now focused on the sleepy child who was blissfully unaware he was the subject of his parent's conversation. "I know of no such item within the palace. When we have a quiet moment, let us discuss with Dedue and Felix along with everything else. Perhaps they have spotted something we have not."

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The clatter of hooves on carefully paved stone announced their arrival home.

Dimitri had dismounted and was helping Byleth down with their toddler still wrapped in her arms when Felix emerged from the side door.

"Boar! You're back!"

Dimitri gave a brief chuckle, one that turned into a huge smile when the previous sleepy Nikolai shouted out with glee, "Fe Fe!!"

Felix's expression was a sight to behold as Dedue himself burst out laughing while dismounting just to his right.

"Nikolai, we have discussed this. It's Felix," the Duke said to the young Prince.

The little boy toddled up to him blissfully not listening to a single word Felix had said. "Uncle Fe Fe!" he shouted out with arms outstretched once in front of him.

With a long-suffering sigh, Felix bent down and picked up Nikolai to the child's delight.

"Thank you for taking care of things in my absence," Dimitri added once he had handed over his horse to an attendant.

"No need. Last time I checked that was my job as your shield. Word of warning, Sylvain is on his way," Felix muttered as they strode into the welcoming heat of the palace.

"For once that is good news," Dimitri replied. "I need some advice. Lots of it."

"How did-" Felix dramatically gestured with a roll of his eyes at Nikolai, "- it all go?"

It was Byleth who answered him eagerly. "Let's save that story till after we get him to bed."

\--------------------------------------------------------------

"Lion!" Nikolai beamed as his father arrived in the room with the stuffed toy he'd left behind previously.  
After a very thorough bathing by his mother and a small meal with just his parents for company, Nikolai was now firmly ensconced in his parents' bed.

He was ridiculously too small for it, almost lost among the pillows and blankets. Not that he cared now that his lion was returned to him.

Byleth was preparing to curl up for sleep with the child already and was currently tying up her long mint colored hair into a braid.

His father had some additional work to do, with Felix and Dedue waiting in a nearby room for his arrival. He'd still dressed down, ready to slip into bed himself once the meeting was over.

"Nikolai?"

The boy peered up to him with big wide eyes that seemed to just shine with happiness from within.

"Yeah?"

Dimitri captured one of the child's tiny hands and gently held it within his own. "I need to ask you something and I want you to know that you don't need to hide anything from me. I was wondering... has someone ever hurt you?"

He watched the confused frown cross the child's face. "I mean... has someone ever hurt you and said it was for your own good? Or that you'd done something bad and this was your punishment?"

That did the trick.

"Oh! Nanny does."

Byleth, who'd been listening carefully from where she sat, now arrived over and sat beside the child on the bed. "What does Nanny do?" she asked while stroking Nikolai's fluffy hair after his bath.

"When I do something bad, she gets the stick."

"What have you done that was bad, Nikolai?" Dimitri pressed carefully.

"I've... I've dropped a plate before. It was too slippy. Once I got scratched feeding the kitties outside when she told me I wasn't allowed to and again when I cried."

Dimitri blinked. "She hit you when you cried?"

The child nodded solemnly. "I'm not allowed to cry."

"Why aren't you allowed to cry?!" Byleth burst out, unable to handle listening to this anymore.

Nikolai glanced at his mother in confusion, as if not understanding what she didn't get.

"Cause I've got to be strong or they'll be ashamed!"

"Who will be ashamed?"

"All the old kings! You and Dada too!"

Dimitri gently pressed a hand on his son's small head, marveling at how small he still was in comparison to him. "You can cry as much as you want. No one will ever be ashamed of you. Where does Nanny hide the stick?"

"In her rooms."

Dimitri pressed a quick kiss on Nikolai's forehead before he nodded at Byleth who took over from him.

As he left, he could hear Byleth saying quietly, "Nanny will never strike you again. She never should have in the first place. You did nothing wr-"

\--------------------------------------------------------------

"Dedue," he barked out upon arriving at the small meeting room.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

Dimitri's fists were opening and closing rapidly with nervous tension. He wanted... no, he needed to step aside otherwise he'd end up with more blood on his hands. Bloody hands he couldn't lift Nikolai with.

"I need you to go Nanny Woiligish and and remove her from her post. You should find a stick of some sort within her rooms. Make sure to remove it from her. She needs to be gone by midday tomorrow and there is to be no contact with Nikolai."

Dedue and Felix both frowned. "Not to be too blunt but why the rush, Boar?"

"She was beating him. Nikolai I mean."

Dimitri went to the window sill, his hands almost crushing the cool stone under his grip.

"If I go, I'll kill her. I know it. And I can't afford to do that with Nikolai being... heh."

Felix blinked. "Well, look at you. Showing restraint. Maybe I can't keep calling you a boar after all, eh."

"Dedue... can you do it now? I'm not as in control as you both may believe," Dimitri growled.  
  
"Of course," the tall Duscar man replied. "I'll return once the work has been completed."

The click of the door closing after him didn't set Dimitri at ease.

"Take a goddamn seat!" Felix suddenly barked after an awkward silence. "What happened at the temple?"

Dimitri, in a rare moment, took Felix's advice and sank down into a chair near the roaring fire. Felix handed over a small tumbler half full of an amber liquid.

The King peered at the glass, swirling the liquid in a faintly hypnotic way before he asked his companion, "What do you know about Nemesis?"


	5. The Dam

Dimitri was comfortably uncomfortable. _A perfectly combined contradiction_, he mused happily to himself.

He lay at the center of his vast bed with his body at a most awkward angle, with not insignificant portions of it in fact exposed to the cold morning air causing his pale skin to break out in goose-pimples. His right arm and leg were slowly losing feeling, a fact he couldn’t prevent with the limited movement he could achieve with them.

Dimitri let out a happy sigh. He wouldn't change one second of this.

Byleth was curled up with Nikolai, both swaddled in the warm blankets that once had spread across the whole bed. His wife was mainly propped up on the arm and leg of his right side in sleep, and he was unwilling to disturb the peace she found in her dreams just to have usable limbs.  
Nikolai, not to be outdone by his mother, was mostly spread across Dimitri's chest with his mother's hands at full stretch to keep the boy somewhat firmly within them.

Dimitri tilted his head slightly to gaze at the flooding amber hues of light from the now rising sun. The tall crystal clear windows afforded him, even at the obtuse angle he was looking from, a view of the waking city still covered in snow. Too soon the chamberlain would come knocking and this moment of peace would disappear.

As if sensing his father's thoughts bent towards a faint sadness, Nikolai whimpered a little before his limbs started to twitch. Behind those eyelids framed with the most beautiful long blonde eyelashes, the child's eyes flickered around anxiously. He stilled almost instantly once his father's large and only free hand carefully placed itself on Nikolai's back, gently soothing away those nightmares.  
  
"I wonder what he was thinking of," Byleth murmured softly, stifling a yawn even while she kept her eyes closed.

"If I could take his fears and nightmares onto myself, I would," Dimitri replied with an equally low voice.  
  
He couldn't stop the smile that stretched across his face when his wife finally opened her eyes and focused those mint green orbs on him.

Byleth smiled that wonderous grin that always caused Dimitri's heart to skip a beat. "I think we've got room to share that burden together."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning was going so well.

Breakfast had been a hodge podge of warm teas and even warmer foods to prepare them for the rest of the day. Dimitri had left shortly after they’d mostly finished the meal as he had committed to meeting with Sylvain and his other advisors. That left Byleth with Nikolai all to herself.

Byleth chased after her giggling child down one of the many long and winding corridors of the palace.  
Both were barefoot; both were slipping and sliding on the highly polished floor, and both were having the time of their lives.  
When she finally managed to catch up with Nikolai, Byleth caught the little boy firmly under his arms and swung him up into the air with a flourish.

"AH HA!! Got you at long last!" she chuckled lightly while her son was bubbling over in hysterics.

Byleth sank down to seat herself and her billowing light dress onto the cool tiled floor with Nikolai firmly locked against her.

"Having fun?" she breathlessly asked only to have someone very different reply.  
  
"I was about to ask you the same question."

Byleth's joy fled instantly and her face became carefully blank. Refusing to let go of her grip on Nikolai nor actually get back to her feet, she turned her attention to the new arrival.  
  
"Seteth. I didn't know you were coming here."

The tall imperious looking green-haired man folded his arms behind his back. "I came to ascertain the safety of your son, Archbishop. I'm very glad to see that young Nikolai is clearly safe and full of life."

Byleth sensed where the conversation was heading but bit back the pithy reply she wished to give and instead replied, "Thank you for your kind words and concern. His father and I are very grateful that you would pay such close attention to his welfare considering the work on-going at the monastery."

"On that..." Seteth interrupted. "... you are very much needed, Archbishop. The conclave can only go so far without your presence to adjudicate and issue the new church mandates. I was hoping you might be able to return with us to see out the last meetings."

Byleth gazed at Nikolai who sat quietly on her lap and played with the blue sapphire heart of her necklace, a gift from Dimitri on their wedding day. Hidden from her sight, a glowing crest of an intricate design flashed in a deep black on his small hand that held the gem.  
Byleth frowned, gave a small gasp, before she bit back a whimper of discomfort as her heart... her normally still heart seemed to stutter in her chest.

"I won't be returning for the moment. You have my assent to act on my behalf. Failing that... fetch Rhea and return her to oversee in my stead. I'll be staying here until further notice," she finally replied with a deep pull of the cold northern air into her lungs in an effort to still the strange feeling within her breast.

"Your Grace, I must insist on this! You're the head of the Church! You must-"

"My decision's final. I needed here, Seteth. I will return once things have been settled."

"I must vehemently disagree!! You have a duty! A duty to the church and-"

"I SAID NO!" Byleth roared suddenly; eyes flashing with fire as her long-dead heart finally gave its first thunderous beat and overwhelmed her.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dimitri heard the roar that echoed through the normally quiet and sedate hallways. He rose from his seat at his desk with a frown etching lines on his temple.

"Was that... Byleth?" he muttered.

"Sounded like her," Felix added roughly as he tossed the papers he was reviewing onto the nearby desk. "Though I’ve never known her to be, well, emotional enough to shout like that. Except in battle of course."

"We've got time before Sylvain arrives. Let’s go and check."

They had barely gotten a few steps passed the door when a young serving girl rushed to them.

"Mi’lords! Please follow me and hurry! Her Majesty's collapsed!"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hello, Byleth."

She has been here before. The endless dark chamber standing before an empty stone throne cast in light.

"Who are you?"

A shudder ran through her body violently as that terribly deep voice whispered right next to her ear, "You know me. We’ve met already. Forgive me for this but I had to check. I had to know for certain."

"Know what?" she gasped as something touched off her in the dark, the air rushing past her as it moved along her body. The dark around the throne seemed to shift, rippling as though alive.

"If you were really her. But you’re not. My sister’s boy is mistaken. You are not Sothis. You are Byleth. But my sister... her children... they’ve hurt you. Damaged you. This thing impedes you. This stone heart.. this dam... should not be. I had wondered and pondered on it but now I can see clearly. Gods, my sister’s children... what a horrendous act they have committed against you. Depriving you of what it means to be human; muting your senses."

Byleth squinted as a bright light started to emit from her chest. The crest she realized.

"This must go," the voice added softly with a single string of darkness that twisted and turned before distinctly pointing like a finger at the glowing crest.

"I’ll die," she murmured, remembering her father’s journal and the strained conversation with Rhea that took place after the war.

"Sothis must stop this hiding, this shying away from consequence by secreting herself in your soul and move to where she needs to be. You will mantle her power but be the very human Byleth as you were meant to. That is what is right."

Byleth glanced around anxiously. "You don’t understand! I was born without a heartbeat! I don’t still. If this... gods, I don’t want to leave my family!!"

"Fear not death, Byleth, for it is not your time. Fear what was hidden from you. When the stone heart fails, no one can stop the tidal wave that will come. **But you must bear it**. All that was muted and lost will be found. The new flame must ascend, reborn from the ashes of the old. You must stand from Sothis’s ashes."


	6. What's Coming

Byleth grimaced as a particularly hard tug pulled at her insides.

"Goddess... please stop. It's tearing me apart."

"I'm sorry. I can perhaps ease it, paper over the cracks a little," Nemesis replied, forming a strange hand from the encompassing darkness that came to rest over her troubled breast.

Byleth, once the pain had eased, meekly asked, "What's happening to me?"

"The stone Rhea placed within you will fail. When that happens, Sothis will split from your soul and the power she wielded will bind itself to you instead."

Byleth gazed at her trembling hands. "That doesn't seem too bad."

"Byleth... when the heart fails, everything will arrive."

"I don't understand."

"All that emotion that was denied to you. Every prick of sadness, anger or jealousy, all the moments of joy and love you should have experienced in full... when the dam cracks, all of it will come. The maelstrom will be such that you may not even recognize who or where you are. This will happen while you wield the power of creation. You'll be a danger to the world itself."

Byleth blinked. "I'll be fine. Really. I will. I've always been good at-"

"Controlling your emotions?"

The hand of darkness pulled back from her chest. "Tell me how your father died?"

Byleth's heart leaped practically out of her chest. Rage, hate, despair, an immense wave of hurt that blotted out even her vision... Byleth let out a choked roar of pain.

The hand slammed back over her chest with Byleth almost doubled over on it.

"Do you see?"

"Yes," she croaked out, tears pouring down her face.

"When it is time, I'll take you far from here. Help you as much as I can."

"Why?"

"Because I need you to help me fulfill my task. The one denied to me by Sothis. Time to go home I think."

Byleth glanced up just in time to see the hand shove her backward and the world she found herself in dissolve into nothing.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

As reality began to seep back into her mind, Byleth became intensely aware of a deep throbbing pain in her chest. Directly where her heart was to be precise.

With her eyes still closed, Byleth's hand drifted up and pressed over it; hoping it might stop the unpleasant and strange fluttering with some additional pressure. No further beating but she could feel the threat of it looming. Her heart wanted to move but something – perhaps that stone heart as he'd called it - was stopping the tremble within from becoming an all-encompassing roar.

_Was it really only a matter of time now?_ she mused.

  
Byleth finally opened her eyes and found she was resting in the very bed she'd only just left a few short hours before. The sky was still bright, painfully so to her bleary eyes, so she was hopeful that she hadn't lost too much of the day.

"Mama!"

Her eyes quickly sought out and found Nikolai who'd clearly been her little protector as he sat beside her on the bed with his lion firmly in hand.

"Hello," she croaked out with a smile. "Where is your Dada?"

"Outside. He's been shouting. I think he’s angry with the man from the south."

Byleth blinked in confusion before realization hit her. "Oh. Seteth! Okay." She gently reached out and ruffled Nikolai's blonde hair. "Sorry if I scared you. Just stay here for a minute, okay? I'll be right back."

She sat up carefully, swung her legs off the bed and padded barefoot on relatively shaky legs into the hallway.

Byleth rubbed her temples carefully, attempting to stave off the dull thud of a headache, as she followed the distant shouting she could hear coming from Dimitri's office.

Even when she was close enough to see the newly polished varnish on the heavy wooden door, she still couldn't distinguish what was being said but she knew Dimitri's voice was loudest.

She gently rapped the door with the knuckles of her right hand and waited. The voices quieted and it was Dedue who answered, "Enter."

Byleth opened it slightly and poked her head in. She grimaced as the bright light flooding in the main window assaulted her still sensitive eyes. It faded as a large shadow cut it off and she'd barely had time to react when Dimitri had swept her into his arms.

"Beloved!" he said between the kisses he pressed eagerly all over her face.

"Sorry I scared you," she replied quietly, feet dangling in the cold air as Dimitri hoisted her higher and into an almost painful hug. Byleth looked over his shoulder at the very advisor filled room and the lone figure of Seteth who stood sheepishly at the far wall.

"Isn't it time to return to the Garreg Mach, Seteth?" she directed at the green-haired man who nodded slowly.

"Of course... your Grace."

"You best go now," she added lightly. "It's a long trip and you have to see out the rest of the conclave in my stead."

Seteth swallowed and buried his obvious disapproval as he clearly heard the distinct reprimand in her words. Now red-faced and biting his tongue from retorting, Seteth said his muttered goodbyes while he strode out.

  
Byleth managed to persuade Dimitri to let her back on her feet. Once they made contact with the cool tiles once more, she reached up and cupped his cheek gently. "I... need to get some water. And maybe lay down for a bit. I just want to say sorry that I scared you."

"I'm coming with you," Dimitri immediately replied before he nodded at Felix, "Take over. I'll return shortly."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Byleth had barely made it back to the hallway when she found herself airborne once more. Dimitri had scooped her up into his arms and now carried her briskly down the hallway.

"Nikolai?" he asked eagerly.

"In the bedroom," Byleth replied. "He's waiting for me to return."

  
"Let's get you back then."

Halfway down the hall, Dimitri stopped a passing servant and requested water to brought to his bedroom. Once she was on her way to the kitchens, he covered the final short distance and entered his room.

Nikolai beamed at seeing them again and happily cuddled next to Byleth once Dimitri had carefully placed her on the bed.

While Byleth was distracted by the child, Dimitri was fetching a lighter blanket and making sure to cover her lower body, in particular, her bare feet.

Once that work was done, he restocked the fireplace until it was in a full blaze, its heat flooding out from its ornate stonework.

Work now completed, Dimitri sank down on side of the bed and began to gently stroke her lower legs.

"What happened?" he finally asked after a moment of quiet reflection.

"It's... complicated. And perhaps not a conversation to have with the present company."

"It was Seteth, wasn't it? What did he do?"

Byleth grabbed the large warm hand that had somehow nearly rubbed her skin clear off her leg through a blanket of all things. "He unsettled something. Something inside me. I... I need your help, Dimitri."

Their gazes locked, Byleth seeing, with a tinge of fear, the shock on his face.

"You... need... me?"

"We can't talk right now. Not with-" Byleth jerked her head slightly in the direction of Nikolai who was stretched out over her lap. "You best go back to your meeting. This can wait."


	7. Feeling Unknown

Byleth accepted the glass of dark sweet wine from Dimitri before taking a small sip.

She grimaced slightly as it gently burned down her throat, hearing her husband's light chuckle as he saw her face.

"It's good, right?" he sighed with a grin, sinking into the comfortable seat next to the roaring fireplace.

"It is. Sylvain has outdone himself again."

Dimitri peered at the lightly bubbling liquid within his glass. "Who would have thought back in our school days that Sylvain would turn out to be such a prodigious winemaker."

Byleth curled up in the seat opposite Dimitri's with feet tucked up off the floor.

"I think you should be more surprised at his marrying of Ingrid and subsequently placing a child in her within barely a month of the wedding" she chuckled. 

She glanced at the fire then back at the glass in her hand. "Dimitri... something's wrong with me," she added softly before taking another sip of the wine."It's my heart and... it's lack of beating."

She heard more than saw Dimitri lean forward on his chair. "That's never been an issue before. Rhea's gift-"

"Rhea's curse!" Byleth blurted out uncontrollably. "My heart's trying to beat on its own. Nemesis says that when it does, I'll be flooded with, heh... memories I suppose."

"Memories?"

"Feelings. Remember how I found it hard to express myself when I first came to Garreg Mach? It was because I didn't feel anything as strong as others did. Nemesis says that was the fault of the crest and that once it fails and my heart beats..."

Byleth looked into the fire, her light green eyes almost turning the color of the flames itself. "... he says that I could end the world in my confusion."

Her eyelids fluttered shut when she felt a large warm hand place itself on her knee.

"We can face anything together. Even this. But I don't trust that creature and you shouldn't place any faith in what he said to you."

Byleth pressed her free hand on Dimitri's and looked into his concerned face. "It wasn't what he said. He showed me. It... it was almost unbearable. I didn't know I could feel like that. And it was only one portion of my life!"

Dimitri's one eye stayed locked on her pair of glowing green as he clamped her hand into his own in one smooth motion. "If it comes to pass then you and I will get through this together. You won't have to bear this alone."

He slowly got to his feet and tugged her in turn off the chair. "Come with me. There's something I'd like to show you."

\-------------------------------------------------

Dimitri led her back along the dark hallway to his office. The clear night sky glittered outside the frosted windows as they padded along in a companionable silence.

As they approached their goal, they could hear the happy raised voices of friends drinking and laughing in the hall.

"Felix seems to be in fine humor," Byleth remarked after hearing the normally taciturn young Duke's voice raise particularly high over the din.

"Well, he'd want to be. The marriage date is soon."

"Yeah," she replied wistfully. "Shortly it'll be hard for all of us to meet as frequently as we once did I'd imagine."

Dimitri chuckled lightly at that as he led her into his office.

It was normally bright and airy but the dark night sky seemed to shrink even the high walls and vaulted ceiling uncomfortably down around them.

Dimitri's desk was swamped in stacks of papers, organized in style clearly recognisable as Dedue's careful hand. But that was not their focus. Instead, he led her the central meeting table and a number of scattered scrolls across it.

"Felix has been quite remarkable in his research. I wonder how he hid this skill of his so well at school..." Dimitri laughed.

But Byleth wasn't listening. Her eyes were focused on...

"Edelgard?"

"Hmm?" Dimitri snapped his head upwards and followed where Byleth's strangely cold and hard stare was aimed.

A smiling Edelgard, as young and vibrant as she had been when Byleth had first met her, was gazing out with empty painted eyes from the large portrait that hung on the back wall.

"Oh! Do you like it?"

"Where did you get it? How long has that..." Byleth suddenly clamped her lips shut and rapidly moved a hand upwards to press it hard against her chest.

"Dedue found it in storage," Dimitri replied, clearly not noticing her reaction in the dark. "It's a good reminder I think. Of how fa-"

The door slamming shut alerted him to the fact that Blyeth had just run out of the room entirely.

\-------------------------------------------------

She ran at an almost break-neck speed down the hallway, desperate now to escape whatever this feeling was in her chest.

She knew parts of it, recognized the feelings clearly. Anger, hate... but this other feeling... Byleth had to get outside. Had to reach the snows as if that piercing cold might shock the emotions from her breast.

It was only when she fell to her hands and knees into the snow pile built up by the side door she escaped from that she knew for certain that nothing was fixing this. This was a real emotion; a leak in fact from her crest.

"Oh gods," she groaned out at the very thought and as a fresh wave of this strange feeling swept over her.

She wanted to spit out all manner of vile accusations at Dimitri while simultaneously spilling tears until there was nothing left but the vaguely hollow feeling she was used to experiencing.

She wanted to scream and rant, demand why he'd put **_her_** portrait of all people in his office... before his desk even!

He'd look at her each morning as he started and each night as he left that damn office.

The feeling built up and up, playing on the previous wounds until Byleth just screamed.

It poured from her very core, spilling out with flecks of flame. As it reached its crescendo, there came a flash followed by a brief and bright inferno of colorful flames that burst from her in a wave.

Byleth blinked and the fire faded, leaving only trails of steam and the snow that had once been there now vanished into warm puddles.

She shook. Not from cold but instead the residual feelings that remained.

And worse still to her troubled heart and mind, she could hear Dimitri's concerned calls for her drawing closer.

Byleth paused, listened, then ran.

She ran in her soaking wet light gown and the equally not snow worthy slippers from the palace, from the safety and warmth... from Dimitri himself and disappeared into the forest.

\-------------------------------------------------

From Nikolai's bedroom window, Nemesis peered out and muttered, "Well, shit."


	8. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)  
Thanks so much to everyone for the kudos and comments. It's really very much appreciated!

"She has to be somewhere! I need another torch! Can someone get me a damn torch?!!"

Felix and Sylvain glanced at each other before the red-head took the hit and departed to fetch what Dimitri bellowed for.

A mere hour had passed since Byleth had disappeared into the harsh Fhirdiad winter night with barely anything at all on her body according to her increasingly anxious husband.

The first they had known of something going wrong was the bright flash of light preceded by the most soul-crushing scream they'd ever heard.

Felix had been first from his chair, knocking it nearly across the entirety of the dining room as he bolted to the windows. There he'd spotted a brief flash of someone running into the thin woods and weaving their way through the trees in a line that led away from the palace.

They'd found her tracks in the calf-deep snows shortly afterward and Dimitri, shunning all attempts to get him to return for more appropriate clothing, had set off in close pursuit.

It was Dedue who'd come to their aid, on horse back with another on lead rein behind him with some of the essentials they needed including a stack of torches; one of which Sylvain was handing over to Dimitri who lit it with shaking hands.

It was also Dedue who'd gone to rally more help and was likely even now hot on their heels into the forest.

"This way!" Dimitri barked as he plunged forward heedless of where it led, only focused on the fact that Byleth had stumbled that way before them.

"Felix, the cold. She must..." Sylvain managed to whisper faintly before drifting off, the horrifying possible conclusion just too much to bear.

"Have faith. It's Byleth. She's come through worse."

"What the hell happened?"

"No idea. The boar doesn't even know. And I'd know if he was lying. He's too shoddy at it. Let's focus on the hows and whys later. Come on."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

The path led steadily downwards with trees becoming more numerous and craggy. Not even as children had they dared venture as deep within these woods like this.

Above, a Wolf Moon was crystal clear through the leafless branches, almost ominously casting its harsh light upon them.

"I think there's a clearing ahead! She was heading that way!" Dimitri shouted back at the pair who were fighting with random branches and twigs to get through to the path he was on.

The thought of just being free from being poked and prodded even briefly was enough to spur them to greater effort.

Soon they'd cleared that last few meters to join their King in the new spot he'd found.

"Goddess!" Sylvain spat out while Felix immediately locked his gaze on Dimitri after registering what lay before them.

It was a clearing indeed but also the site of a battleground. Byleth's steps had stalled then become lost among a flurry of pawprints and blood. Lots of it in fact. Bright crimson that punctuated the bland black, grey and white of the landscape.

No bodies to be seen but the struggle was written as clear as day in the snows.

"Don't-" Felix burst out, one hand grabbing the thin shirt that covered Dimitri's body as he took a step forward. "-... please. Don't. Let Sylvain and myself go on from here."

The backhand that Dimitri used to slap Felix's grip from its hold on his shirt would have been enough to break his bones if the Duke hadn't been aware it was coming.

Dimitri pressed onwards, plunging forward and desperately scanning for some trace, some fragile piece of hope that Byleth was still out there.

And he got it. Just slightly past the scuffle on the far edge of the clearing his keen hearing picked up distant snarling and... a yelp.

A few steps in that direction confirmed he was right to pursue as suddenly there was another track, this time of pawprints, blood and human footprints.

Dimitri yanked the steel lance he'd picked up on his rush from the palace free from it's strapping and readied it even as he bolted at full speed down the narrow dirt paths.

A quick turn around a small cliff face overgrown with trees and their roots and suddenly there she was.

Bloodied, asleep and sitting in a tree. But alive! She was alive! At the base, three wolves with thick shaggy grey coats paced, eager for a meal but patient enough to wait until their prey bled out or died in the cold.

Dimitri didn't ease his pace and barrelled into the nearest wolf who yelped and shrieked. The lance was true and struck deep into the creature's side. On instinct, Dimitri had almost instantaneously yanked it from where it was lodged and finished the job with another plunge into the wolf's neck.

Nothing else was needed as the remaining wolves took off, the shock and surprise being more effective than anything else.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

"BYLETH!!!!" Dimitri roared. She was passed out but somehow she'd managed to seat herself securely in the tree, lodged in the junction of a large branch and the main trunk.

Thick red liquid that steamed in the cold air oozed slowly from the bite and nip marks on her limbs and torso. Her nightgown was in tatters and soaked in the very same blood that still dripped.

By the time Felix and Sylvain arrived, Dimitri had already scaled the tree himself and was attempting to hoist her unresistant body down.

"Sylvain! I need you to hold her as I pass her down! Felix! I need your cloak to cover her!" Dimitri barked.

They didn't need to be told twice, Felix spreading his gear out in preparation for Byleth to lay in it and Sylvain grabbing the limp half-naked Byleth as she was passed to him from Dimitri's grip.

"Ehhhh! Help!" Sylvain gasped as he found himself face first in Byleth's nearly bare cleavage while he struggled to get a better grip following the final drop.

It was Dimitri who yanked her motionless body from his grasp after he'd swung down from the tree, landing with a slight grunt before he almost slapped Sylvain out of his way.

"Byleth! Please! Wake up!" Dimitri begged with a voice that wobbled violently after he'd laid her down on Felix's cloak.

For their part, Felix and Sylvain were tearing up the rest of her gown to use as makeshift bandages to bind her many shallow wounds before they attempted the return journey.

"She's freezing!" Dimitri mused before he started to yank off his already minimal clothing to give to her, an act that was only stopped by the late arrival of Dedue still on horseback but this time with more soldiers and even more supplies.

  
To all of their relief, Mercedes jumped down from the back of Dedue's steed and rushed to work.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Byleth was warm. Tired but warm. A random stab of pain as she attempted to move her hand added a new feeling to the list. Tired, warm, and _sore_.

"Good morning."

Her eyes snapped open and stared into the borrowed face of Nemesis. She was back in the palace, in the bed she shared with Dimitri no less. Only her husband was snoring lightly in the chair beside her with her left hand clamped in his right.

Nemesis sat on the opposite side and peered at her.

"What happened?" she whispered, hoping not to disturb Dimitri's rest.

"You appear to have had some sort of... breakdown? You ran off into the forest. Caused a lot of trouble."

"I... oh goddess. I was so stupid but I couldn't... it was too much! I've never felt that way before."

"Oh? What did you feel?"

"My father described it once... jealousy. I think I was jealous and it hurt. Still... hurts," she murmured.

"And you've never felt that before? Ever?"

The slight shake of her head was enough.

"What sparked it?"

Byleth gave a choked laugh that was more like a pitiful sob. "A picture. A bloody... picture."

Nemesis frowned before he reached out and wiped away a stray tear that had escaped Byleth's attempts to not leak out. "I think we need to move the schedule forward. Tomorrow morning we go."

"Go?"

"South. To your childhood home. Not that abominable monastery. To where you first lived with Jeralt."

Byleth gasped briefly as her heart twinged. "Rhea could-"

"Rhea will be dealt with. This... tragedy she has woven over these long years. The harm she has caused so blithely and not just to you. They will all answer."

Nemesis gently pushed a stray lock of damp hair back from her face. "We're practically family, you know. The only innocent one, the only human even, among the gaggle of fools and damnable misanthropes that remain. I wouldn't have this chance if not for you. So... we go tomorrow. Then once our work is done, Garreg Mach calls."

Byleth blinked. "What will you do there?"

He gave a slight smile. "Just focus on rest. And after that, talk to him. I know it's all so new to you so here's one bit of advice; feelings can be conquered but only if you give voice to them. How can he be your supporting pillar if you do not trust enough to place any weight there?"

Then he vanished leaving nothing behind in his wake.


	9. Chase

Her horse gave a snort that billowed out puffs of steam in the cold air and attempted to nip the strap she'd just dropped over his neck. She hummed softly, a trick she learned from Dimitri, to calm the beast who flicked it's long ears back and forth.

Byleth's hands were freezing in the early morning cold as she finally adjusted the last strap. Her steed had turned from curious nipping to stamping his hoofs impatiently, clearly eager to get moving.

Byleth rubbed her hands together before replacing the gloves she'd initially removed in order to better grip the harness and its various laces.

She glanced tiredly at the sky. It was slowly turning into dawn and she needed to be gone before the first true light hit the city.

She'd left her small family to their dreams, safe from the bitter cold in their rooms. Dimitri was slumped across two chairs after some maneuvering of his tall body on her part to get him more comfortable.

Nikolai needed no such adjustment from where he was curled up fast asleep under his bed covers. She'd kissed his forehead gently and murmured how much she loved him to his unhearing ears.

Byleth had stolen away then, stopping only to write a brief letter which she stuffed in her pocket with a vague plan to send to Dimitri once at the nearest town.

"Where are you going?"

Byleth groaned but hoisted herself into the saddle before she addressed her new companion.

"Good morning, Felix."

The young Duke glared at her. "I said where are you going?"

"South. I've got things to sort out."

"And the boar?"

Byleth grimaced, reached into her pocket and retrieved the crumpled note. "Could you give this to him?"

"Why don't you? Surely you can wait a little longer. At least until he's awake. Does he even know?"

Her silence gave the game away.

"Oh for Goddess's sake!!! What are you thinking?! The boar's barely kept his brain functioning when you're not around and now you're taking off for the second time within the span of a day without telling him?!"

"I... I can't. I can't find the words," she spat out. "I need you to trust me, Felix."

Felix snapped the letter from her hands. "I can't and won't stop him chasing you." He shook the crumpled letter at her. "You better start if you wish to escape him because I'm going to wake him right now."

"Felix... please!"

"Stop acting like a child! Whatever it is that's going on with you, just tell him! Tell us!"

"I CAN'T!" Byleth suddenly roared before managing to temper back on the surge of raw emotion that had coursed through her chest. "I can't! I don't even know what this is! I'm... I'm a danger to him. I'm a danger to Nikolai. I have to try to fix this before I can let them near me. Please, Felix! Please... just... give him the letter. But when he wakes on his own."

The Duke looked at her stern-faced and completely unconvinced. Byleth pressed her one last gamble.

"Remember... remember after Enbarr. Remember what we did together. What I did... for you and me. Please, Felix. Please..."

She saw it then. The little crack in the iron mask Felix wore and she knew that her arrow had been true to its mark.

"Just go," he huffed.

She needed no further encouragement and neither did the horse she'd picked from the stable. Within moments they were careening out from the palace grounds and into the city.

Dawn arrived in all its glory but found her far from Fhirdiad, far from what had been her home for the past six years.

She couldn't look back. Couldn't afford to. Her horse bore her onwards with almost the same urgency that she felt within as the distance grew between herself and the small family she was leaving behind.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The old and ornate door was flung from its hinges and now lined the floor in the hallway haphazardly.

For all its weight and age, it had failed under Dimitri's strength and rage.

He'd read the letter after Felix had woken him shortly after dawn. In the interim, he'd smashed through a number of doors in anger, torn down the portrait of Edelgard from the wall and crushed it in his hands, before sinking in a deep malaise at his desk.

Dedue, having left Mercedes in their rooms, found the king and Felix sitting in what had once been a very pretty office that now lay destroyed.

"Your Highness?"

Felix waved at him to stop, to leave Dimitri to his thoughts. Dedue began instead to gather up the heavily damaged portrait that was scattered in large pieces on the floor.

"Burn it," Dimitri growled, the first vocalization he'd given in nearly half an hour.

"Burn?"

"Toss it in a fire," the king added lowly as he got to his feet. "I need my horse readied immediately. Actually... get the carriage ready."

Felix folded his arms across his chest. "Oh?"

"Nikolai and I need to find his mother together. Fetch a convoy. We will need supplies for the journey. Felix, you must accompany me. Sylvain too if he can be spared from Ingrid."

"And the kingdom?" Felix quickly retorted. "Who is to take care of it in our absence?"

Dimitri looked to Dedue. "I'll leave it in hands that have capably taken care of me and my family all these long years."

He placed a firm hand on Dedue's shoulder. "I know you'll give a thousand reasons as to why not you. But I know the only reason that matters. I trust no one as I trust you. I have handed the safety of my wife and son to you on numerous occasions. And now, though I know what I ask is great, I need you to administrate on my behalf while I'm gone."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

They'd been on the road for the better part of the day and only now had settled into camp just at twilight. They may not have seen any sign of Byleth on their journey so far but they knew her final destination thanks to her letter and were persuing in her phantom wake.

Sylvain had joined them eagerly enough at the start but was now clearly regretting the decision, seeing how urgently he was penning his own letter to his distant pregnant wife from where he sat near the fire.

  
"I've been thinking of that passage you mentioned," Felix remarked drooly.

Dimitri looked up from where he'd been focused on helping Nikolai not spill his overfilled bowl of stew. "Oh?"

"I recognized it. On the way here I just glanced over a few books and found where I think its from. It's from those ruins where you found Nikolai. Partially translated from the wall relief," Felix replied.

"Are their any other available passages of it?"

Felix coughed before he began his recitation in earnest.

"_From serpent's folly and tempestuous flames;_

_Through glories old, and grief, and pain;_

_One craves, and through trial, reclaims;_

_A mother lost, yet the fire rises in twain._

_From Serpent Sun to Wolf Moon;_

_A birthing writ in blood and ruin;_

_Mark the passage of dragons long hewn;_

_Welcome World Eater, from fire, with doom."_  


Dimitri blinked. "Serpent Sun to Wolf Moon?"

His friend shrugged. "The scholar who researched and deciphered those passages believed it was some sort of message. A portent of some future event. He wrote the research paper 88 years ago so perhaps he wasn't far off."

"The last lines don't sound promising."

Felix sniffed. "It's a poem. Sometimes they're bleak. Just it's interesting that the creature you encountered at that same shrine gave Byleth just one passage of it. Specifically the one with_ a dead heart... _and with the problems you've disclosed especially regarding what Rhea had done to Byleth as a babe." The Duke suddenly sighed, "Don't get me wrong. I don't believe in this prophecy nonsense but it appears to me that the poem is talking about Byleth. That particular passage is anyway. Or maybe it's describing a set of conditions that lead to..."

"Lead to what?"

"The world's end? A new age? Who knows. Just figured it's interesting is all."

Dimitri frowned. "Why did he stop? The scholar I mean. I imagine there is far more to see in that shrine."

Felix glanced at his liege lord. "Apparently your grandfather intervened. Banned any further inquiry. I've requested that small caravan of reprobates you're paying to be up there now investigate. Perhaps there will be further clues as we go."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The journey had been long and hard. Harder on her horse for sure but now as she stood in the hidden meadow facing the rundown wooden hut, Byleth wasn't so sure.

Her heart was straining at its restraints, desperate now to let her feel. She knew what it was aching for. Her father and the others. She spent her childhood in these woods, hidden and safe while Jeralt grew his mercenary band.

Here she'd learned to wield a sword; to grow flowers and herbs; to be... human.

Byleth released her horse's reins, content to let him graze on the still sweet meadow grass. Winter had not reached this place yet.

Her home looked so ominous with no cheery fire or laughing voices coming from within.

Byleth pushed in the door with ease although noticing the distinct creak of hinges long overdue their portion of oil.

Her breath caught in her throat. It was perfect. Practically the same as when they'd left it so many years ago. A layer of dust coated their furniture but here... here was the table with chairs that they ate their meals at or where she'd complete her school work with her father's help. The stone fireplace seemed to ache for new fuel and fire to burn away the cobwebs that lined it.

Bunkbeds lined the walls and to Byleth's ears came the echo of distant chatter belonging to friends and companions long since gone.

In a trance, Byleth sat at the table and stared down at the little etch on the wooden surface. A larger weathered hand grasped hers and she peered up into her father's face.

"Are you ready, kiddo?"

She lunged at him, throwing herself into his arms and into his mercy while grasping his oh too real shirt in her hands.

The crest in her heart finally and decisively shattered, and Byleth's world went with it.


	10. The Beast

"What is this..." Dimitri murmured more to himself than a directed question to his companions.

Nikolai grabbed his father's hand tightly and half hid behind Dimitri's legs.

Felix was the first to take a step forward with one hand outstretched to touch the shimmering surface. "It's incredible," he mused softly as his hand touched his own that reflected back at him.

A giant bubble had formed over the entirety of the forest, spanning several miles at least both in height and width. The surface reflected the world outside of its boundaries with a shimmering gleam.

"Oh dear. Looks like it's all come to a head slightly too early."

Dimitri jumped at the deep voice that echoed near his ear, registering too late that Nikolai's hand was absent from his own.

Nemesis instead stood at his side peering at the same orb they were.

"What do you mean?" Dimitri snarled.

"The crest has broken but perhaps all is not lost. This... feels like containment. A place for Byleth to figure out who she really is. Let's go help, eh?"

Nemesis clapped Dimitri on the back before striding forward to where Felix stood.

He skimmed a broad hand over the surface, feeling somehow for any weakness before finally pushing roughly at a particular spot.

The same thick tar-like liquid that he'd suspended Nikolai in previously appeared at his feet and drove itself against the surface near his hand.

Slowly but surely, Nemesis forged a tunnel inwards.

"Are you coming?" he shouted back at the trio who were watching in fascination before they joined him.

They emerged into the orb interior just as the tunnel collapsed behind them.

\------------------------------------------

"Holy Goddess!" Sylvain barked out.

The forest within had taken on a ghost-like form with the very trees themselves being only shades of themselves and could be passed through entirely. The only object that seemed real and solid was a distant log cabin sitting in a glade.

Above them was what could be described as a nightmare. Every inch bar some patches which let in the sun's light was covered in an upside-down convoluted version of Fodlan's cities and towns. They could make out sections of Garreg Mach, Fhirdiad, Enbarr, and countless others all mixed and half merged together as they moved in slow ponderous motions across the surface of the orb.

"That's... that's messed up," Felix murmured with eyes locked on the creaking and groaning structures that were miles above them.

"Let's get to that cabin," Nemesis added. "I think we'll find out more there. In fact, I know we will."

He strode off at an urgent pace which left his companions in the dust.

They’d only just reached him once more as he opened the door and burst inside.

"Hello, sister."

A young girl with long mint green hair and even brighter eyes, clothed in rich vibrant fabrics in a style they’d never seen the like of before, stood silently in the dusty room. Upon seeing Nemesis, her eyes started filling with tears.

The visage of Nemesis himself had now changed, apparently to remind the girl of who he actually was. His hair grew longer, switching from blonde to green with eyes of a bright white. The face changed too, becoming more like Seteth than anything in the Blaiddyd or Eisner bloodlines.

"Brother!" the girl cried out. Nemesis opened his arms and the child flung herself into them.

"Forgive me! Please! Forgive me!" she sobbed.

"Oh Sothis," Nemesis sighed. "How could I stay angry at you? I just wish you had listened to me and not let it reach this stage. If you'd just let me complete my task... we wouldn't be here now."

Sothis pulled back but kept a grip on her brother's hands. "I understand, brother. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I locked you away and tried to...“ She peered up at her brother through her tears. "I know, eh, remember about Byleth," she murmured.

"A discussion for not here," Nemesis quickly replied. "Let's go and sit together by the pond."

He turned to the trio beside him. "Byleth‘s here attempting to work out her place in all this. Attempting to put together her world once more. Go. Help her. She needs her family, her pack even, to help her."

Sothis turned her bright mint green eyes to Dimitri in particular. "You're very handsome in person, King Blaiddyd, and I’m glad to make your acquaintance at last. The first time I've been able to see you with my own eyes in fact and not Byleth's borrowed ones. She loves you, you know. She's just... going through a lot right now. Don't forget that. She survived all the insults and jabs you threw at her while you struggled with your own demons. I hope that you can similarly bear such indignities for her."

Dimitri blanched white. "Where is she?"

"She's sitting at the edge of the forest. Waiting for, well, help I think."

"Best you two stay here," Nemesis added quickly to the bemused Sylvain and Felix. "I think this is a job for you alone, King Blaiddyd. Just remember, everything in here is Byleth. Everything."

\------------------------------------------

After brief discussions with his companions, mainly around watching Nemesis who had the unconscious Nikolai cocooned in his temporary body, Dimitri headed out to find his wife.

To his surprise when he spotted her, he found she was not quite the beautiful woman he'd first seen all those years ago at her father's side.

The younger Byleth with her original dark hair and violet eyes sat on the outskirts of the glade, half-hidden in the swaying grass surrounded by pale ghostly flowers. She glanced up at Dimitri as he arrived.  
  
"Hello, " she greeted without a trace of emotion on her small face.

"Hi, " Dimitri replied, kneeling down to see her better. "I've... I've heard you need help figuring some things out. I’d like to help if I can. My name is Dimitri. "

Those big eyes blinked at him. "My name's Byleth. My father’s just gone into the forest for a bit. He’s coming back. "

"Your father? Okay... how long has he been gone? "

A tiny frown of concentration cross Byelth’s young face. "Awhile actually, " she finally replied. "A long while. "

"Shall we go in after him? "

"We can't! The beast is in there!" she blurted out, jumping to her feet as she did.

Dimitri mused that for a moment before he softly replied, "I can keep you safe. No beast can stop us finding your father, right?"

The young Byleth pondered his words carefully before she finally gave him a timid smile - one that nearly caused his heart to stop in his chest from adoration.

She offered him her hand which he quickly accepted and soon they were off into the depths of the forest.

\------------------------------------------

They'd barely taken a few steps within when a deathly howl echoed through the woods.

Dimitri felt that little hand in his tighten while his free one latched on to the sword at his side and readied it.

"The beast has been hunting us since we got here," the young Byleth murmured. "Father said that I'd have to face it. To put together the pieces. Then he went in to find our path and didn't come back."

"Pieces? "

Byleth nodded. "He said that I’m not whole yet. That I have to be whole otherwise it can’t happen. "

"What can’t happen? "

"The end. I’m... I’m not sure what he meant. He left me alone."

Dimitri pulled her to a halt and knelt before Byleth, his hands covering her shoulders gently. "Your father would never leave you willingly. He loved... loves you. You're not alone, Byleth. Never ever alone so long as I live and breathe."

Before the child could answer, another deafening howl echoed out. This one was far closer.

"Let's go. I see a small spot over there. A clearing. Let's get there and check our bearings," he added quickly.

Instead of waiting for the child to walk herself, Dimitri hoisted her up high into his arms and started into a run. He'd just cleared the treeline when a monstrously large shadow appeared as though it had been on their heels the whole way through the woods.

Byleth shook a little in his arms as they watched the shadow pace along the edge of the forest, not daring to cross into the sunlight. They didn't notice the intricate crest that appeared below their feet until it began to hum and churn.

Before Dimitri's sight was consumed in bright light, he saw the creature briefly. A terrible dire wolf, large and monstrous with thick dark fur and eyes... eyes he knew.

"Wait!! How are you still-"

When the light faded, Dimitri found himself in what looked like the remains of a small village with small stone cottages surrounding its center.

Just behind it, the high walls of Garreg Mach passed by slowly as though they floated on a river. Dimitri snapped his eyes upwards and spotted the forest he'd just been in was now in his sky.

"Where are we?" Byleth asked quietly.


	11. Cracks

Dimitri took a moment to get his bearings. The churning mass of a compressed Fodlán was disconcerting but he must make the best of it.

"I know this place."

Byleth's soft voice caught his attention and spun on his heel to find the child version of his wife staring a distant building in the small village replica they found themselves in.

"I... went to school there?" she muttered before setting off in a run.

"Hey! Wait!" Dimitri shouted after her, quickly covering the distance that had formed between them. Still, she disappeared in the door before his arrival.

He slipped in hurriedly after her but found only a blinding white light.

After it passed, he chanced opening his good eye as a choir of small voices reached his ears.

Children. A whole classroom of them. Byleth sitting stone-faced and silent at a small desk among them. He'd realized almost immediately that he was not visible to the very real crowd as any attempt to make Byleth or anyone else in the room see him failed.

A young pretty school teacher in prim Empire clothing and a distinct south Fodlan drawl was attempting to instruct the rowdy crowd some basic math.

Her patience finally wore thin and she smacked her table with the heavy stick she'd used to point at different parts of the board covered in chalk scribbles.

"SILENCE! I've had enough of you all. One more word out of any of you and you'll find yourself out those doors with notes to your parents!"

The chattering came to a halt.

"Good. Now-" The teacher sighed as a distant bell began to chime. "We'll finish this in the afternoon. Get some lunch."  


* * *

Dimitri followed Byleth and by extension the rest of the students as they filed out into the same dusty village center he'd first arrived in.

Almost immediately Byleth was shoved from behind so hard that she was flung forward, hitting her small nose off the hardened sun-baked dirt. She pushed herself up carefully, pressing the back of her hand to the bleeding nose before looking at her attackers.

A group of young boys that Dimitri had noticed being particular boisterous inside was glaring at her with the brown-haired ringleader in particular scowling in disgust.

"Why did you-" she started to say in a monotone voice when the boy suddenly kicked dust into her face. Her bleed forgotten, Byleth started coughing and covered her mouth.

"You're a freak!" the child roared at her. "And it's your fault that Miss Penny shouted at us! If you weren't so silent she'd just let the rest of us talk."

Byleth merely got to her feet and attempted to walk away only found herself this time shoved into the wall. Her head met the old stonework with a sickening crack and she slumped down in pain.

"No one's gonna miss you, freak! So leave! Don't ever come baAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The boy found himself caught by the collar of his shirt and yanked upwards at speed into the very hard glare of Jeralt.

"You goddamn little piece of shit," he growled. "I'm in two minds to break you against that wall myself. You come near her again and I'll know about it. And so will you."

He tossed the child hard, not even keeping an eye on where he landed. Instead, he knelt down and picked up Byleth tenderly.

"You okay, kiddo?"

"Sore," she replied softly, peering up at him with eyes that faintly shone with life for the first time through this whole ordeal. Distantly Dimitri could hear a very distinct crack as some unseen object seemed to fracture.

"Well, let's get back to camp, eh? The boys and me did pretty well today and got some nice stuff."

"What about school?"

Jeralt gruffed out, "To hell with school. You can read. You can write. Better than me when I left. Let's get to camp and have that head seen to."

* * *

The figures and voices began to fade until Dimitri was alone once more with only the young Byleth standing outside the school.

"I remember," she whispered.  
  
Dimitri sank to his knees beside her. "What to you remember?"

Byleth turned a tear-streaked face to him. "I remember how much it hurt. I don't understand why they'd do it! I didn't do anything wrong!!"

Her voice wobbled and squeaked until at the last word she burst into tears. Dimitri held her close, letting it all flow out.  
  
"We can be so cruel to each other," he murmured quietly. "But you've become so strong, Byleth. Stronger than any of those who hurt you. You're surrounded by friends, those who love you so dearly and would put themselves in harm's way to keep you from feeling one ounce of pain. This hurt will pass and be swallowed up by better feelings. Trust me."

The sobs began to subside until finally she pulled back and wiped away the last straggling tears from her cheeks.

As she did so, the wall behind her collapsed and revealed a door.

"I think that's where we're going," Dimitri said with a sigh before offering his hand to Byleth.

Together they stepped through.

* * *

"The hut," Dimitri muttered, finding himself a facsimile of the small meadow and hut that was currently far above in his sky.

But this hut was full of life and cheer. Mercenaries wearing the distinct colors that marked Jeralt the Blade Breaker's company were cloistered around completing everyday tasks, all laughing and joking with aplomb.

To Dimitri's surprise, young Byleth was replaced by a teenage version growing into her figure and beauty. He couldn't help but realize he'd be just as smitten if this version had arrived at Garreg Mach as a student.

Not that Byleth would have noticed him considering how focused she was hacking away at a training yard dummy; with a blunted sword in hand and her long hair tied back haphazardly.

"You're doing it wrong again."

Dimitri glanced over at Jeralt who sat on a nearby seat as he whittled a piece of wood with a small ornate blade that seemed too regal for the purpose he was using it for.

Byleth stopped her almost ceaseless assault on the unfortunate dummy and turned to her father.

"What have I missed?" she queried, attempting to shove her sweat drenched hair back from her face while her muscles trembled with the exertion.

"You're not thinking. Just slash, hack and slash. Vitals, kiddo. Only strike for the vitals. I can teach you the fancy aspects of swordsmanship later but first, you need to know how to win; and blowing your stamina in a fight is not the answer."

Jeralt picked up a random pollen-filled flower and strode over to the training dummy. He used the thick yellow fluff to mark out points on the dummy's body; head, heart, and throat.

"Three points. Hit one and you've almost guaranteed a win. Hit two and it's no longer in doubt."

Byleth looked over her father's handiwork.

"Must I... killing seems so final," she murmured with gaze locked on the smeared spots.

"It's kill or be killed, Byleth," Jeralt replied as he placed a hand on her small shoulder. "The first time will be hard. Harder than anything you know. But over time, you'll become better at it."

She turned those violet eyes now once more flickering with emotions and life at her father.

"Better at what?"

"Dealing with it. The dead'll never go. They're with you forever. Only kill those deserving of it."  
  
"But we're mercenaries!"

Jeralt barked out a laugh. "Correction. I'm a mercenary. You're not even battle-tested yet." He handed over the piece of wood he'd been whittling to Byleth who held it reverently in her hands.  
  
"For me?" she whispered.

"For you. Now. Back to work. You need to be ready for the next fight."

The world and people began to fade once more but not before Dimitri heard that crack again, this time louder and longer. He stared at the small figure of a wolf that Byleth held in her calloused hands.

* * *

Another door suddenly opened and Dimitri followed silently after Byleth who'd pocketed the small wooden wolf and strode through the opening without saying a word.

"Now this I remember," he muttered.

The field he stood in afforded him a wonderful view of Garreg Mach in all its glory before those long five years. With flags and banners flying; the bustle of a busy village and school, Dimitri felt almost at peace seeing the place so full of life. To his side, Byleth, now grown, also stared at the sight with wonder.

"Byleth?" he asked, daring to hope she'd recognize him now but found only a blank stare.

"I know this place."

Dimitri smiled ruefully. "Good memories I hope."

Byleth suddenly spun on her heel. "Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"That..." she gripped her chest suddenly, bent over pain. ".... that howl!"

Dimitri spotted it then, hovering in the nearby trees. That same shadow with a bone-chilling howl.

He gripped her upper arm tightly and started to pull her along with him as he made for the outer wall and the heavy metal gate that controlled those who entered.

He'd just gotten her behind the walls and sealed the door shut when the wolf once more emerged.

"You died," Dimitri murmured, watching the beast pace back and forth as it wore a new path into the dirt. With each snort, its breath clouded in a fog adding to the beast's fearsome image.

"You know it?"

He glanced at Byleth who was staring at the creature with fear etched on her face.

"A long time ago, it helped me when I believed myself alone. But it died. I saw it die. How is it here? In this place of all things?"

"Let's leave it here," Byleth murmured before setting out for the main keep and all it contained. Dimitri, with more than a few backward glances, followed her in silence.


	12. Confusion

Dimitri sat unnoticed in a free chair while he listened intently to the easy conversation taking place without him.

They'd barely passed the portcullis into Garreg Mach when Dimitri had suddenly found himself in Jeralt's old room with the man himself and Byleth sitting having tea.

In a strange way, Dimitri was grateful for this rare insight into the relationship between his wife and her father.

The older man was teasing Byleth lightly, pressing her on her first impressions of the monastery and the various houses that comprised it.

"The students are eager," Byelth replied to Jeralt's insistent pressing.

"Come on! Rhea told you to take your pick. Which one will you go for?"

Byleth nonchalantly picked up her slowly cooling cup and replied before taking a sip, "Blue Lions."

Jeralt barked out a laugh and hit the table with his fist; a move which surprised Dimitri. He wasn't sure how to take Jeralt's reaction to the mere mention of his former house.

"I gotta ask why, kiddo! They're not exactly... I mean... hell, how do I phrase this..."

Byleth peered at him over her cup. "Soft?"

Dimitri started at those words, mouth open with surprise. _She had thought they were soft?_

"Well... yeah. I'd thought you'd want the Black Eagles out of all of them."

"No. I want the Blue Lions," Byleth replied softly, her cup being returned to its saucer with a gentle clink.

Her father frowned at her, clearly concerned over what Byleth was thinking.

"And? Why is that?" he finally pressed after a moment of silence.

"I like them."

Dimitri huffed a little as a smile edged the sides of his lips upwards.

"You need to give me more information than that. What do you see in them?"

It was Byleth's turn to frown at her father as if confused as to how he didn't see what she did. "They are good; and kind. Too kind. The Black Eagles would run them down. The Golden Deer outwit them. Well, perhaps not outwit but more prey on their gentle natures. They need me more than the others."

Jeralt smirked. "Just... just what your mother used to do. Always taking care of those who needed it most."

His daughter missed the smile entirely, focused as she was on her hands that idly closed into fists then opened again in a cycle.

"Have you met the house leader? They say he's like his father, Lambert. I knew him a little from his own time at the monastery. Damn shame what happened to him," Jeralt continued.

"Dimitri's very polite as I'd expect from a young man of his status. But... it feels a little like a well-meaning facade," Byleth said softly. "I've heard of what happened to his family."

Jeralt sighed. "A tragedy. Lambert was a good man. I think his son's just like him. As it is... I approve of your choice. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do."

* * *

Dimitri wasn't prepared for the sudden shift in scene. No more easy transitions where he could speak with his wife and perhaps ease Byleth's tortured heart.

They were closer now to something, some seminal moment that Byleth was racing towards. Or perhaps racing to avoid.

The training yard was empty with the exception of Byleth who was focused on her own training. She wielded the training sword with practiced ease, completing a series of defensive motions and stances in the wide empty space of the yard at twilight.

It was still warm even at this hour. In the distance, Dimitri could hear the chime of the bells calling the faithful to evening prayers while in the opposite direction the lively chorus of student voices echoed as the entire school it seemed relaxed after a long day.  
  
Except for Byleth. She was steadfast in her own training, focusing on every move and step.

"Professor. I'd hoped to find you here."

Byleth blinked before straightening into a more relaxed stance.

"Good evening, Edelgard. How may I help you?"

Dimitri watched with a vague sadness as his step-sister, now long dead, approached Byleth.

"I'd hoped that perhaps you'd be willing to spar with me?"

"Professor Manuela unwilling?"

Edelgard tilted her head as she did when clearly pondering the right words to say.

"While I respect my Professor, she was not my first choice in an instructor. Your victory on the field with the Lions was proof of that."

Byleth leaned on the training sword she'd jabbed into the ground. "It was not my victory. It was the Blue Lions. I merely gave direction."

Edelgard seemed to prowl around Byleth, sizing her up in such a predatory way that Dimitri could almost see Byleth's hackles beginning to raise even with her carefully blank expression.

"But that's not it. They were not even a consideration as a possible threat until you took over. Now... now they've bested my House and Claude's on the field. With no losses. Don't tell me that was Dimitri's doing."

Byleth hefted the sword off the ground and rested it lazily on her right shoulder, in a position where she'd require very little energy to move it into a terribly hard swing if needed.

"Dimitri played a valuable role in the win. He led with distinction and yet showed humility in victory."

"He was always too soft. Once... that was what drew me to him. But time has long since passed for silly first loves."

Dimitri blinked. _First love? Surely Edelgard didn't mean... him? _he thought.

Before he could even process that moment, Byleth was already leaving the training yard with the parting words, "If you wish for my instruction then please request my assistance from Professor Manuela. She deserves more respect than what you currently afford her, Edelgard. Any training I may give you must be approved through her. Good evening."

* * *

Dimitri had no time to ponder on Edelgard's words as he had to quickly react in order to follow after Byleth, rushing to keep up with her as she pressed through the milling student crowd as she made her way from the training yard to her room. She'd just passed a blushing young woman being romanced by the ever womanizing Sylvain when the ground opened up beneath them.

Byleth was falling with Dimitri at her side. Above the light of day was fading with the sound of a battle being an ever-present roar.

She screamed; a desperate and terror-filled noise. It was something Dimitri wished he could never hear again. Before he'd realized it, the world seemed to crack and shatter.

The image of Byleth was.. contorting?

As suddenly as it happened, the fragments of the world began to rearrange themselves, merging again until he found himself at the ruins of the cathedral staring at... himself. The Boar King as Felix called him so frequently.

As hard as it was to see himself as he'd once been, Dimitri gritted himself in preparation. He'd not been so reasonable during this timeframe.

Another Byleth approached the slumped and bitter version of himself cautiously, arms wrapped around herself in an attempt to keep warm in the bitter cold. Or perhaps to shield herself from his scorn.

Dimitri couldn't stop the revulsion at himself as this other him snapped at her cruelly, demanding she leave when she offered only comfort and aid to him.

Byleth stepped away, leaving the hostility of the once glorious cathedral behind until she met Felix on the bridge.

"He still in there?"

She nodded slightly but Dimitri could see how much he'd worn her down during those dark times. Byleth looked so broken as a rare moment of emotional candor was writ across her face. Dimitri's heart ached.

Felix placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing you can do. The boar'll see us all dead to reach Edelgard."

Byleth placed one hand over Felix's, sheltering it almost under her far slighter hand. "He's in love with her I think. My... father often spoke of things like this. How love and hate are two sides of the same coin. That the most intense of love can flip so easily and be the opposite."

Dimitri let out a partially outraged gasp at her words, almost completely taken aback at them. _Did she really think that he... Surely she knew that there was only room for her in his heart?  
_

"Then he's a fool," Felix remarked before he tugged her into a light embrace, a clear sign of a level of intimacy that Dimitri had never suspected between the two. He was now even more incensed and confused. _Surely not Felix... they'd... Byleth would never..._

"Thank you, my friend," Byleth said softly, her voice muffled by the high ridge of Felix's fur collar at the nape.

"I promised my father that I'd make sure to keep you safe. He believes- well, it doesn't matter what he thinks. I promised myself that I'd not let the boar drag you with him into hell. Just stick with me, Profes- Byleth."

Felix stepped back and held her tightly in place; her slight shoulders in his far larger hands. "Don't give up on the future, Byleth. If we can reach my father and gain those reinforcements then we've got a shot. A real shot at fixing this."

Byleth gave a slight smile before she gently tucked a stray lock of Felix's hair behind his ear. "Thank you, Felix."

She wrapped her arms around herself and walked away. Byleth had barely made it past the last pillar when the howling started again.

She froze in place, wide-eyed staring at the dire wolf who was gazing at her. The ground once more opened up and they fell.

And again came the scream followed by the world cracking and contorting. Dimitri was beginning to suspect that this fall meant something.

The memory of Byleth's disappearance as she fell into the canyon... was this the memory she seemed to be avoiding?

* * *

When he came to, Dimitri found Byleth once more in the company of Felix to his now increasing irritation. It was nighttime at Garreg Mach and the pair stood in the billowing winds and cold on the monastery walls.

"He's insane," Felix spat out. "My father's dead because of her and he expects he can talk her around somehow to peace."

Byleth peered out over the starlit countryside, pulling her coat over her to shield against the cold. "Let him have his moment. He needs to. His... heart demands it."

"I think you were right. About the boar still being in love with her."

Dimitri was fit to burst out with indignation at Felix's words but found himself focused instead on the empty look of Byleth.

"My father is dead," she finally said softly. "And Edelgard played a part in that. I'm... I'm going to keep Dimitri on the right path. He'll be a great king. Fodlan needs him, especially when everything collapses. I need you to remember that, Felix, and take care of him in my stead."

Felix blinked. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill her. In defiance of the king's orders," Byleth replied to Felix and Dimitri's surprise. "She as good as murdered my father. I can bear more blood on my hands."

She turned to Felix who had paled considerably. "I know the consequences of what I plan. I just ask... I would request that when the executor is selected that it would be you to pick up the sword and take my life."

"No. NO! I refuse!"

"Felix-"

"I won't because my head will be beside yours on the block! I've no intention of letting her walk away unscathed."

Felix reached out and gripped her arm tightly. "I swear to you, Byleth. Whatever it is that you plan for Edelgard, I'll be at your side."


	13. Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, etc!  
A lovely trip to the US delayed this chapter by a couple of weeks! :)  
Hopefully, I'll be back on track by the end of this week!

Dimitri felt out of place, watching as he now did the last battles at Enbarr as an outsider.

After the brief group discussion prior to storming Edelgard's last bastion, he had to watch in almost disbelief as Felix and Byleth spoke only to each other with hushed whispered words.

Words he knew carried their last discussions with each other over their planned ruse. No matter what he'd wanted in the past, Byleth and Felix were willing to lay down their lives, to be known as traitors even, in order to see Edelgard dead.

He was not surprised then to watch Byleth staring blankly at his defeated step-sister even as he reached out with a hand of forgiveness only to have a dagger thrown back in return.

Dimitri couldn't imagine how Byleth must have felt, to watch him again and again seemingly show her that his apparent regard lay with the now-dead Edelgard. When he saw his past self freeze at the doors and almost turn back, he had to just simply shake his head. Byleth instead got him out and into the embrace of Sylvain and the others before she then disappeared. That he recalled on his own.

Yet now he stood here in this place outside of time and saw where she'd gone to. She was standing with Felix staring at the corpse of Edelgard.  
  
"He stole from us her death," Felix remarked. "I didn't think the boar had it in him."

"He didn't. She forced his hand," Byleth replied while Dimitri himself could only stare at her sadly as the words fell from her mouth. "We take her body. She can't remain here."

"I overheard the boar speaking with Sylvain. He wants her entombed with her ancestors."

"No. No place of burial. No mausoleum that her people can grieve at it. Edelgard will not be a damn martyr for future imperial resistance," Byleth spat out before she hoisted the limp body over her shoulder with a grimace as she just barely handled the deadweight. "Fetch the horses. I'll meet you near the eastern gate."

Felix balked at her. "I take it you're not going out the front door... Byleth, this place hasn't been fully cleared yet."

"Just get the horses. Leave the method of how I reach you to me."

* * *

Dimitri didn't get to see how she made her way there or even how Felix managed to bypass the anxious crowds and gathering troops. All he knew was he blinked and found himself outside a wooded copse with the still burning city of Enbarr in the distance.

Two horses were tethered to the side of the entrance while Byleth stood shivering at its boundary while her eyes were locked on Felix's back as he carried Edelgard in.

Dimitri had to try and see if at last, she could hear him.

"Byleth?"

"I... I can't go in."

Dimitri bit back a small choking noise before he swallowed her up in his arms.

"You can hear me! Goddess, Byleth!"

He pulled back briefly and meet her confused gaze. "You shouldn't be here," she muttered.

"Neither should you!" Both jumped in fright as Jeralt emerged from the woodland. "I've been looking for you."

Dimitri was now stunned entirely. "Sir... Sir Jeralt! But you died. Years ago."

Byleth's father waved away his words with his broad scarred right hand. "Save it, kid."

Jeralt huffed before he grabbed his daughter by her shoulders carefully. "It's time, kiddo. It's time to face it."

"Dad..."

"We can't run anymore. It's here. The moment."

Jeralt spun her around, keeping her firmly in his grip with no hope of escaping but facing out... at the direwolf.

"NO!" Byleth started to panic, almost clawing at her father who forced her forward one painful step at a time.

"I know, kiddo. I know. Just... trust me."

Byleth locked on Dimitri with a wild and terrified stare. "Please!!" she begged. "Please!! Save me!!"

"Stay outta this, kid!" Jeralt barked out, still pushing her easily forward.

Dimitri's hands flexed anxiously at his side, almost cursing his indecision as he tried to figure out the best path. He'd almost made up his mind when suddenly it was over.

The direwolf now loomed above Byleth where her father had her firmly placed. Its head lowered and its breath huffed out in a billowing cloud of fog that surrounded her.

"Byleth..." Jeralt said softly, his face buried into the hair at the back of his daughter's head. "... don't you recognize her?"

Byleth's shivering gently stopped and she reached out with a timid hand to touch the snout of the beast that had chased her across the expanse of her mindscape only to find... herself.

The direwolf faded away, leaving only Byleth as she once had been with dark hair and eyes of the darkest shade of blue.

Dimitri blinked. "Wait... that's not right. That creature was real. It existed in the real world. It was... goddess... "

He whispered the words Nemesis had said to him at the very beginning. "...everything in here is Byleth. Everything."

* * *

The ground disappeared and once more they were falling.

Above the battle at Garreg Mach raged while below lay only endless darkness. But where so many times they couldn't move past this moment without the very world seeming to shatter, now he finally understood what happened to Byleth when she'd vanished all those years ago.

Her eyes closed tightly; tears that leaked from her eyes flew away from her cheeks in the rush of air as she fell, and then she wasn't Byleth anymore.

Just as Rhea had somehow become the monstrous dragon above, Byleth had vanished in the dark below, her body twisting into a single point of bright light before emerging as the wolf.

It had immediately managed to turn its body around to face the rapidly approaching ground, using whatever it could to slow its descent and somehow not end up crashing at a reckless speed.

Instead, it plunged into the hidden river at the end of the darkness before dragging itself up onto the bank.

"Byleth..." Dimitri murmured. "It was you all along. You never left."

What came after was rapid moments seemingly disjointed from time itself. Dimitri realized that whatever had caused Byleth's memory loss of this time period was gone and now it was all rushing back to her in a flood.

The wolf he remembered. Shortly after escaping thanks to Dedue's sacrifice, Dimitri had wandered listlessly through the snows. But he was not alone. The wolf had been at his side. He'd never understood why. Merely he'd taken it as a sign that he was now more beast than man; and that the wolf being near was proof positive of it.

The first time he'd seen it... killing soldiers that were chasing him recklessly through the woods outside Fhiridad. The same woods he'd chased Byleth through not a few days before he realized. Now here he was witnessing the truth. She'd come to find him. Save him. The direwolf had slaughtered the soldiers easily but peered at him curiously yet made not one move against him.

She'd stayed always at his heels, intervening periodically when he'd find himself against too strong a foe or, to his shame, dropping half-eaten game from her own hunts when Dimitri had found his own attempts to be not as fruitful. He'd... become used to the wolf always being there. Comforting.

And then... before Byleth had reappeared he realized, he'd strayed into an ambush as he'd journeyed to Garreg Mach. The wolf had saved him but had fallen into the canyon. Fallen as Byleth had five years before. He had been vengeful, angry at the loss of his silent companion and had slaughtered the soldiers before collapsing in the monastery.

And then she'd come back to him.

* * *

Around him, the shell world was collapsing under the weight of this revelation. Before he could even think to fear, he found himself back with Sylvain and Felix on the meadow while above the twisted Fodlan was shuddering and vanishing into dust.

"What the hell happened?" Felix barked.

Before he could answer, it all disappeared. Shattered into... "Snow?" Sylvain muttered as he held out a bare hand and caught the small white flecks that were drifting lazily downwards.

Whatever had been here was over. Whatever answers Byleth was seeking had been found.

And she now stood before them as he remembered her from when they first met; without the bright mint green color that had afflicted her after the fight with the imposter.

Dimitri could barely react when Nemesis stepped past him, with the very same mint hair Dimitri had thought of glowing brightly in the now visible midday sun.

Nemesis flung his arms out wide in a strange supplication to Byleth who stared at him impassively.

"Welcome, World Eater. At last, the great twilight of the gods is here."

Byleth suddenly frowned before replying, "Nidhogg?"

"It is I, old friend!"

She stepped forward cautiously, glancing around at the world as though it was the first time she really saw it.

"Release him," she said softly while peering at the nearby trees.

"Release?"

"My pup. Before I tear you from him piece by piece. You don't need him to remain in this world now," she added before locking a hard stare at Nidhogg who merely smiled.

"As you wish, dearest Fenrir."

The darkness parted and Nikolai emerged blinking in the sunlight to his mother's waiting arms.

"Mama?" he sniffled, confused at where he was and the brightness of the light.

Byleth held him tightly to her. "I'm here," she sighed while rocking him gently. "It's all going to be okay now."

Byleth took a couple of steps to her right and handed Nikolai to Dimitri. Before he could even formulate a sentence, she gently pressed a finger to his mouth to silence any words that might come out.  
"Later. We will speak later. Please... wait," she mused before spinning on her heel to face Nidhogg and Sothis.

She strode off with the pair at her heels towards the distant treeline; shepherding the pair with a hastily thrown bark over her shoulder of, "A talk is very much in order. Follow me."


	14. The Wolfen

Byleth returned alone.

Where her two companions had disappeared to was anyone's guess.

As she approached where the small group stood waiting in the meadow, Dimitri scanned every inch of Byleth's face; searching for any glimpse of stray emotion but instead found no giveaway of how his wife was feeling. He couldn't help but feel as though they'd taken steps backward in time, back so far that he almost felt like a student with this almost unbearable crush on his distant teacher once more.

She stopped a few steps in front of him and peered up into his face.

"Hello," Byleth said softly before she reached out to take Nikolai from him. Once she had the boy firmly in her arms, she started out determinedly for her horse grazing nearby.

"Hey! Wait!" Dimitri shouted before he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back into a complete halt. "You don't get to do this. Have this madness happen and walk away without saying a word!"

His wife gazed up at him with eyes that seemed to soften and shimmer the longer she gazed at him. Dimitri couldn't stop himself leaning in the warmth of her hand as she cupped his cheek gently.

"I'd almost forgotten how handsome you are," Byleth murmured to him quietly. "We have to go. There's someone nearby I've got to rescue otherwise my questions will go unanswered. Please... come with me. It's not far."

Byleth stepped away, rushing to the snorting horse before hoisting herself and Nikolai up into the saddle. She was halfway down the dirt road when the others caught up with her; Felix and Dimitri on horseback while Sylvain drove the carriage somewhat recklessly with wheels veering dangerously close to the side ditches.

Byleth had shortly afterward pulled up near a small and seemingly inconsequential stream. She'd hopped off her horse quickly before placing Nikolai securely into the carriage.

"Stay put," Byleth whispered to her son. "I'll be back with a friend in a moment."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Felix barked, face almost set into a scowl as Byleth raised her hand in a silent plea for quiet.

She strode down to the stream's edge, paced along its bank for a moment before she found large prints still visible in the soft mud. Byleth stood upright and took in a couple of deep breaths through her nose, seeming to take in the scents of the forest around them.

Without warning, Byleth took off at a run. She quickly crossed the stream, swerved through the treeline and up a small hill. At the top, she waved back at Felix and Dimitri to follow. Sylvain watched the proceedings with a faint amusement from where he sat with the young Nikolai, keeping the young boy in good company with little tales and stories to distract.

After following in Byleth's footsteps almost literally, Dimitri and Felix saw what Byleth had found. A small clearing and within it lay another dire-wolf.

This one looked as though it had been through a war all of its own. Its sides heaved in and out unsteadily thanks to the two spears jutting from its ribs; one had it's handle snapped in half completely while the other was still intact.   
The dire-wolf appeared exhausted, with nothing left within itself to fight for its life. Instead, it watched them arrive idly, growling faintly when Dimitri and Felix joined Byleth in her approach to the creature.

Byleth swallowed to wet her suddenly dry throat before she began to move even closer to the beast with hands outstretched to show she meant no harm.

"I'm here to help," she began to croon gently, hoping that the tone of voice would relay her intentions even if the words themselves were not understood. "It's gonna be okay. I need you to trust me..."

The wolf just watched her, mustering up enough energy to only whine. Byleth managed to get close enough to reach one of the spears. After taking a moment to gauge the situation, Byleth took hold of the remains of the broken spear's handle and pulled. It emerged quickly to her surprise while the sudden jolt in it's wound caused the dire-wolf to squeal with pain.

It tried to move, flopping like a fish trying to get back into the water from a riverbank. That only drained it even more and by the time Byleth started to heal the wound as best she could with her limited abilities, the dire-wolf was once more collapsed in an unmoving heap.

The cycle was repeated for the second one. The spear was drawn from the dire-wolf's flesh; the beast cried out in pain, and Byleth would do what she needed to stop the bleeding while the beast lay in a stupor on the ground.

Once done, Byleth edged as close as she dared to the wolf's head. She knelt beside it, running a hand through its surprisingly soft fur before gently resting her hand on its forehead.

"You can come out now," she whispered. Strange archaic symbols on the wolf's fur appeared then flashed brightly with a blue glow. The wolf disappeared. In its place, a heavily scarred young woman, naked and covered in thick grime and dirt, was left laying on her side with clearly severe injuries instead.

"Quickly!" Byleth shouted at the dumbfounded pair behind her. "Help me get her to the carriage. We've got to get her to a healer and quickly. I don't think I did enough to heal everything."

Felix moved first and quickly hoisted the confused young woman up into his arms. The stench was almost too much for even his unusually unmoved nose. The girl had thick matted hair caked in mud while her naked body could practically be classified as being clothed considering how much mud was on her skin and how it hid her clearly ample charms. And mute too. She'd said nothing at all. Instead, she seemed completely dumbfounded by everything happening to her.

"What the hell is she?" Felix muttered to Byleth who was still casting what little healing magics she could as they rushed back.

"She's human. A blessed human. A wolfen."

* * *

They sat in an uneasy silence at the crackling inn fireplace.

Felix sat with arms crossed directly opposite Dimitri who for his own troubles was holding the sleeping Nikolai. Sylvain was lounging with a mug full of ale in his hand that he sipped from occasionally.

A floor above them in one of the rooms they managed to procure for the night, the young woman Byleth had found was being attended by a local healer while Byleth herself was observing.

"So... this is nice," Sylvain said out loud, trying to break the silence as best he could.

"Shut up," Felix snapped. "We don't need useless chit-chat."

"Felix... how close are you and Byleth?"

Felix jolted at Dimitri's quietly spoken question. "What does that mean?"

"It's a question. How close are you to my wife?"

"She's your queen. My job is to be the shield of your family last time I checked."

"And when she wasn't my queen? When we were fighting against Edelgard..."

Another heavy silence fell. Dimitri and Felix stared at each other in a strange duel, both seeming to try and see how much the other knew without actually verbally saying it.

Sylvain took another sip of his ale, eyebrows raised in confusion but grateful to have zero clue in what was going on. Although he made a mental note to ask Ingrid if she had any idea.

It was only when they spotted the healer exiting down the rickety staircase that the awkwardness was broken as they made their way back up and to what they hoped would be questions answered.

* * *

Byleth smiled warmly at their arrival. "Eager to see us?" she mused.

"More eager for answers. You owe us at least that," Felix bit back, ignoring the strained look Sylvain cast his way. "Who is the girl?"

It was the first time they were all afforded a good look past the dirt and grime they'd originally found the young woman covered in. She'd been throughly washed and smelled now like lavender instead of that almost unbearable stench earlier.  
Her hair and eyes were like Byleth's, a deep dark blue – almost violet in some parts. The matted hair had been thoroughly combed and braided but they could easily see that it fell past her waist in length. She was pretty for sure but covered in scars indicating a life up to now not spent in comfort.

She glanced around like a wild animal backed into a corner and not at all acting like a girl wrapped in bandages and ensconced in a soft bed for the night.

"This is Gyda," Byleth replied. "She's... a bit shy right now. Gyda is a Wolfen."

Felix glared. "You said that twice now. What is that?"

"A human blessed by Yggdrasil. Gifted by the wolf to switch her form. This is the first time that's she's been able to be human. Her life from birth to now was spent trapped in the form of a wolf."

Byleth glanced at Gyda who was now shying under the blankets. "They are... they were Sothis's crime. What she did millennia ago that's played out again and again in a neverending loop."

"Tell us. Tell us what's happened!"

Byleth gestured to them to take a seat at a nearby table. "You best sit. It's a long tale. Gyda has told me as much as she knows. I filled in the rest from Nidhogg and Sothis. Some from... memory, I suppose."

Once the table was full and their attention was focused on Byleth, she took a deep breath and began to recite the story she'd managed to pull together.

"At the beginning, Yggdrasil and its children created the world. The world tree gave us form and structure. The wolf, the bear, the eagle... all melded some of themselves into the very fabric of it's being, forming the links that bind us and allow the use of magic. Sothis was sent here to light the spark and set the sun in the sky. Her brother, Nidhogg, hung the world in a cloak of darkness and gave some of himself to allow his sister to hang up the stars that lit the night. The seas parted; the earth began to bloom, and life came as it was foreseen."

Byleth sighed deeply before she added, "Nidhogg's last task was to open the gate and return them both home. But Sothis begged her brother three times not to depart. To stay and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Humans had been born then and roamed this vast world. Some were particularly blessed by Yggdrasil's children and as such were gifted with two worlds, one of humanity and another of beasts. Sothis felt so deeply maternal over these new peoples. But she was also an overbearing mother and decided that we needed to be controlled; guided even by her more knowledgable hand."

Byleth sank down onto a nearby free chair. "She entrapped Nidhogg, burying him deep within the world itself so he couldn't open the gate and take them home. Sothis had more children, those born of her flesh, and with each birth, her determination to remain in this world increased a hundred-fold. Then... she realized the truth. So long as the others remained, those humans particularly blessed by the distant children of Yggdrasil, there would be one sent eventually to remove her by force. And so... she committed a terrible crime. Using her poor trapped brother and the strength she'd stolen from him, she condemned the Wolfen and others like them to one form. She closed the links between them and those who'd blessed them, forcing them into beasts. Separated from their primary human form, Sothis knew there was no way for that chosen deliverer to be born. She was right and now they've been trapped as animals for millennia."

  
Byleth turned to Sylvain. "I hate to make you recall but remember Miklan? Remember how your brother was consumed by that strange darkness and trapped within a four-legged demon? A beast as it was? It was a reenactment. The crime replayed again and again with Nidhogg's power used and drained each time."

Dimitri frowned. "Where are you in all this?"

"I'm... in-between. Rhea never knew what Sothis knew. She wanted Sothis to return but had failed in her experiments so many times. Then she had an idea. She stole a Wolfen cub; set the child free from the curse; and then implanted her mother's crest. The crest of flames stone lay within the child's heart. She believed that perhaps the nature of one of the Wolfen would match their own and that her mother would return."

"That was your mother wasn't it?"

Byleth nodded. "My mother never knew herself. She suffered... the way I suffered. Until she met my father and loved him. Until I was born and she loved me. And... heh... the reason... I was sent here from Yggdrasil. The moment they'd been waiting for. To send the spark through. But in fear of my apparent death, Rhea lodged the stone in my heart. And I lost myself."

Dimitri was stumped. "You mean you would have lived? But your heart-"

"Was beating. Just slowly. The spark was still crossing. But my mother couldn't bear even the idea of my loss. At least that is what Nidhogg said."  
  
"He called you Fenrir. He called you the World Eater."

"My name is Byleth."

"But Fenrir-"

Byleth huffed. "I'm not here to end the world. I'm... my name is Byleth and my father is Jeralt and... and I love living. I love this big silly world. I'm here to end this tragedy. I'm here to set the world free. Fenrir is the name the old tales called the one who would set the Wolfen free."  
  
"Heh. Serpent sun to wolf moon," Felix muttered.

Dimitri peered at Byleth. "What do we do? You're still the Archbishop."

"Not for long. I can't. They'll know something has changed by merely looking at me. I can't let them know what's happened until I've set the rest of them free. Those trapped I mean. After that, I don't know. Nidhogg wishes to complete his task but I know what it means."

Sylvain shook his head. "War. It'll mean war."

"And by freeing those trapped... you're talking about raising an army," Dimitri added quietly.

"... yes. But I don't want the rest of Fodlan involved if it comes down to it. The last war has drained us of too many good men and women. Too many families torn apart. This fight is between those connected to Yggdrasil."

* * *

It was late and all had departed for their appointed rooms.

Byleth sat on the double bed's edge while Dimitri shrugged off his upper armor. "No more questions?" she asked softly.

"I've got many questions but enough answers for tonight," her husband replied before he stretched out his shoulders.

"You saw... you saw a lot of my mind," Byleth mused. "I had thought you'd might have something to say."

Dimitri sunk onto the bed beside her. "Now that I think on it, I do have something quite urgent to disclose."

Byleth turned her head, tilting it to lock her gentle eyes on his. "What is that?"

"I wish I'd known sooner that you'd believed I loved Edelgard beyond being a sibling. I wished I known because I would have disavowed you of that notion and prevented causing your beautiful heart any unnecessary pain."

Byleth blinked, stuttered before she froze up. Dimitri tugged her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist while fisting his hand in her hair to keep her eyes locked on his.

"There's so much still uncertain but... I love you. Whatever happens next, don't believe yourself alone. I'm not going anywhere. I may not be fully aware of what exactly is happening but know that I choose you."


	15. Gyda

Dawn had arrived to Felix's mild displeasure. He and Sylvain had drawn straws the night before when it had become apparent that someone needed to guard the girl.

He'd gotten the better part of the deal, leaving Sylvain for the night to sit outside the room door while Felix got some sleep. But now at this early hour of the morning after having switched shifts, Felix was thinking with some tiredness that, in fact, he didn't.

The girl had been quiet. Silent according to Sylvain before he left for his room. _Good, _Felix thought to himself. His mind drifted to Dimitri and the question.

"Typical boar", Felix growled lowly to himself. Dimitri always cloaked himself in this grand facade, as if he could fool the world into thinking he was such a perfect person. Fooled Felix's own father that was certain. Felix's lips curled in disdain as that old wound flared up.

A loud bang from just behind the door threw his thoughts into disarray. He snapped up and rushed into the small room with his sword in hand.

Only to find the girl staring up at him with such fear from where she was collapsed on the floor, a pile of pale skin, soft fabrics and wide eyes beside the bed.

Felix glanced at where those terrified eyes were locked. His sword was gleaming in the dim light, raised up in what must appear to her as a very threatening way. Felix quickly sheathed it once more with a loud click booming in the quiet that had fallen as it locked in place.  
  
He extended his hand to Gyda which only seemed to confuse the young woman even more.

"Come on," Felix muttered. "I'm trying to help you."

Losing patience, Felix snapped his hand out and grabbed the girl's limp hand before pulling her bodily upright. He immediately realized what had happened. Gyda appeared to have very little strength in those legs of hers. Perhaps all those years of being on four limbs have left her with deficiencies in standing on two. He clutched her slightly closer, attempting to compensate for the essentially dead-weight in his arms, before hoisting her up into his arms.

After depositing her on the bed with very little fanfare, he attempted some words again.

"Can you understand me?"

She blinked at him, her huge dark blue eyes with thick eyelashes fluttering like the wings of a butterfly. Gyda seemed to ponder his words carefully before she nodded with cheeks tinged a dusky pink.  
  
"Right," Felix huffed. "What were you looking for?"

Gyda gestured to her mouth, making movements that if Sylvain were present would have their meaning immediately turned into something distinctly obscene.

"Food? And drink I'd imagine. I can get something. Stay put in the bed. I'll be back momentarily."

* * *

After a brief exit and hasty return, Felix deposited a bowl containing thick steaming porridge (and a large dollop of honey on top for good measure) into the interested Gyda's hands. A mug full of lukewarm tea was similarly unceremoniously placed on the side table.

Felix watched with faint amusement as Gyda attempted to figure out the wooden spoon before she made to dig into the porridge with her free hand.

"No," he barked, grabbing the offending limb before it could dip in. He began to mime for her how to use the spoon before he physically adjusted her hand to properly grip it.

"That's it," he mused. "Just move it in, pick up enough to fill but not fall out, and then lift up to your mouth."

Gyda slowly and deliberately mimicked what she'd seen Felix do. Her nose twitched as she took a brief sniff of the food that was balanced precariously on her spoon before she took the plunge. The spoon disappeared into her mouth and she tasted this new dish for the first time.

Felix watched the strange joy cross her face before she began to pile the food in a very unladylike fashion into her mouth.

"Calm!" he exclaimed. "Let yourself taste the food."

Gyda stalled and peered up at him with hands shakily around the bowl before she offered the meal to him. It dawned on Felix what was happening and he gently said, "No. Keep it. No one's going to take your food. It's yours. So... take it easy."

Gyda seemed to take it all in as well as she could and began to eat once more although at a far slower pace. Felix for his part slumped onto a nearby chair and watched it all with amusement.

* * *

"So... Felix..."

Byleth's eyes flickered in the mirror, spotting her husband through the reflection. Dimitri was lounging in bed still, resting against the headboard with an arm casually behind his head while his eyes were locked on her.

"Felix?"

Dimitri nodded. "Felix. Your memories... remember?"

"Oh." Byleth turned around to face him, light nightgown twirling around and billowing as it moved. "We're friends."

"You know what I'm getting at."

Byleth stilled then sighed as she easily crossed the distance and sat at the edge of the bed. "I... don't know what we were back then. Sort of in-between."

Dimitri watched his wife's face contort slightly with a distinct sadness. He removed his hand from behind his head and reached for hers that was gripping the still warm covering blankets. Once he had a hold of it, Dimitri tugged her back properly onto the bed and pressed her against him.

"Tell me. I want to know," he said softly. "No secrets."

"It wasn't a secret. You just... you weren't yourself at the time and noticing me or anything else wasn't a high priority," Byleth replied. "Nothing happened. But sometimes it felt... I... I think I was close to loving him. Being in love with him I mean."

"What happened?"

"I was caught up with another man."

Dimitri started, jolting a little physically. "Oh? Who?!"

Byleth rolled her eyes. "You. Goddess' sake, it was you. I was caught up trying to bring you back. I couldn't give up on you. Whatever had been there between myself and Felix, whatever that could have been... it was destroyed by my insistence on saving you. That closeness disappeared and suddenly there was this chasm."

Dimitri gently stroked her cheek with his free hand. "I'm intensely aware of my failings, especially from back then. But I can't help but feel blessed that my unforgivable behavior somehow kept you free for when I could regain myself. I fear to ask this but... what are your feelings to him now?"

"Friendship. He's a good friend. A better one to you and an excellent steward to the Kingdom."

Byleth let out a surprised gasp as Dimitri, with a distinctly wolfish grin, suddenly shot forward and claimed her lips for his own. She could only gasp in a quick breath and giggle lightly as the covers swallowed her up, and her thoughts became muddled by Dimitri's busy mouth and hands.

* * *

"Back to Fhirdiad?" Felix repeated almost incredulously.

Dimitri nodded, his eyes locked on his wife who was trying to help Gyda walk a few steps relatively unaided. "Indeed. Byleth will send notice to Seteth of her resignation. We have time on the journey homeward to concoct a sufficient story to cover it. Gyda needs time to figure out things and regain some of her physicality before they set off on their journey."

Felix frowned. "Where are they going?"

"Everywhere. Byleth firmly believes that together Gyda and herself can find the rest of the Wolfen. From there, she'll return hopefully with the restored people in tow. It must be done in secret, however. If it somehow comes out..."

"The Church."

"Correct. It has to be secret otherwise we'll be looking at another war far too soon. A large swath of Fódlan's population only survived the last shattering war through faith, through the belief that the Goddess was caring for them. If it becomes known that there are other aspects to the Church that call it into question, we could be looking at something far worse."

Felix sighed. "Right. I'll go check the carriage with Sylvain. That girl is gonna need it along with Nikolai. You know, we best start moving soon. If we're lucky, perhaps we might see the capital shortly after nightfall."

* * *

After bundling a bemused Gyda and a beaming Nikolai into the safety of the carriage while Byleth kept them both company, the small party started out for home.

Sylvain whistled eagerly as the carriage rattled along the roadway, his thoughts full of Ingrid and hoping she wasn't going to gut him before he could explain everything when he arrived home.

Felix's mood was silent and somewhat somber. His thoughts dwelled on so many things, from the potential war to his forthcoming wedding. He needed to send word to Annette that perhaps they would have to postpone it once more considering what might be to come.

He was so distracted that he didn't notice the rustle in the bush nearby and then the large jaws that attempted to clamp themselves around his horse's throat. His steed was more aware than he was, and jerked away violently, bucking and screeching to put distance between itself and the bear that had eyed it as it's prey.

Felix was flung hard from his horse, smashing to the ground with a thud. He groaned, glad to have somehow not broken his neck. He looked up, eyes widening as he realized the beast was barrelling at him. For the briefest moment, Felix realized that this could possibly be it for him. The end of House Fraldarius. Here. On this dirt track by a mad bear.

Felix desperately reached for his sword, hoping that perhaps he could somehow stave it off when the bear lost momentum and roared in pain. Felix blinked, almost unable to make out what was going on from the frenzy of fur, blood, and desperate growls and roars. But when his vision cleared slightly, he could just make out the dire-wolf locked in combat.

The horses and the carriage were long gone, racing off in a panic while leaving him and the beasts behind along on the road.

Felix could hear the distant shouts of Dimitri as he raced on foot to rejoin them while he was engrossed in the fight happening before him.

Jaws snapped and jagged teeth tore as the two fought, each looking for just one opening to end it. The bear rose to two feet, towering over the wolf who backed away, pacing until it placed itself between Felix and the bear.

Ears flattened back and fur puffed up, the dire-wolf began to advance on the bear who, finally, thought that this was too much effort for what it had originally thought would be an easy meal. It huffed, breath fogging in the air before letting out one last chuff and roar. It wandered off cautiously, disappearing among the trees and bushes.

* * *

Felix watched dumbfounded as the wolf began to fade in whisps of light, disintegrating before his very eyes, leaving... Gyda. Naked. Naked and bloody. Deep red blood was pouring from her reopened wounds on her side and the myriad new cuts that were serrated into her flesh.

"Are... you.. okay?" she said slowly, trying to say the strange words correctly before her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.

"Fuck!" Felix roared. "Get over here!!! I need help!" He yanked whatever medicaments he had at hand from his belt and started to do what meager amount he could. "Stupid girl," he growled.


	16. Strangeness

Gyda rested.

Well, rested as much as her large wolf frame, which was collapsed on its side in front of the open fire in the palace's largest living room, would allow.

Those ears of hers flicked and twitched as she dreamt the strange dreams of the Wolfen while Nikolai was happily using her like a bed, stretched out against her furry belly that was exposed to him.

Nikolai loved it, of course, eagerly rubbing his head against the soft fur on her vulnerable and exposed underbelly.

Initially, Dimitri was dismayed, desperate to keep his son from the creature with concern burning in his mind over Gyda's temperament while in this intimidating form. Only to have his concerns completed abashed as Gyda, half asleep and with lopsided ears, turned her large snout towards the little boy sleepily and buried it in Nikolai's soft blonde hair.

His son started giggling as Gyda, following some snorts of hot air as she took in his soft scent, started to use her large tongue to clean him. That rough tongue rolled over the ticklish shell of Nikolai's ears and the sides of his face, leaving the boy in a fit of laughter.

He was fast asleep now, wrapped up with his new and most unusual friend.

* * *

Dimitri's attention drifted from the pair snoozing by the fire and back to the conversation taking place among his companions.

"I still firmly believe we need to call for a physician," Felix snapped to Byleth who simply shook her head.

"No. Gyda's healing just fine. The only reason she retook the wolf form was to heal herself."

"She's human. She needs to start living that reality," Felix muttered while he kept his amber eyes focused on the large wolf being cuddled by the Crown Prince near the fire.

"And she will, Felix. But it takes time. More time than you have the patience for." Dimitri replied before he reached out, grabbed Byleth's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "We'll be here to help her. Plenty of room in the palace."

"No," Felix snorted in reply.

"Sorry?"

"She's coming with me. She saved my life and through that the future of my House. I'm honor-bound to repay that whatever way I can. If I can achieve that through helping her navigate the world of humanity than so be it."

Dimitri scoffed. "Since when have you cared for the chivalric code? Fighting ability at any cost was always more of your forte."

Byleth coughed, signaling to Dimitri that perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say before she broached the deeply scowling Felix in a more careful fashion than her husband.

"You're going to be married soon. Your wife will need your time. Annette will need you to be focused on her."

Felix flickered his gaze over to Byleth, his handsome face still contorted into a scowl as he peered at her. "Do you believe I can't complete both tasks? Do you believe I'm incapable of giving Annette what she needs and fulfill my duty to Gyda?"

"That's not what Byleth said," Dimitri replied sternly. "She's right by the way. The first year of marriage is a learning curve. Becoming used to each other in such close quarters. You can't have another woman, and an attractive young woman at that, in your household. At the very least it would be unseemly. She'll remain here with Byleth. At least they'll have some commonality as Wolfen."

Felix snorted with derision. "Gyda's my ward. There's nothing you can say that will change my mind. She's to be part of House Fraldarius retinue for as long as that takes."

"For goddess sake, Felix!" Byleth huffed with exasperation, almost roaring it in the nearly empty room.

Gyda snapped awake at the change in tone, ears peaked up and eyes darting around for danger.

She let out a soft whine, raising up onto her four paws carefully to allow Nikolai to slump to the floor almost completely unnoticed to the sleeping boy. Gyda then stood over the child protectively while her fur bristled to make her already formidably large wolf body even bigger.

"I'm sorry!" Byleth said softly as she waved her hands in what she hoped was a calming way. "There's nothing wrong. No danger. I was just... upset."

Those ears angled again, somehow managing to express Gyda's faint confusion.

"It's late and the journey home was long," Dimitri suddenly added. "I think bed is needed. Especially for Nikolai."

Felix was to his feet faster than the others. "Gyda, come with me. If you must be as a dire wolf for tonight, then you will be resting in my rooms where I can keep watch."

Gyda waited until Dimitri had taken young Nikolai in his arms. Once she was sure of his safety, she followed after Felix in a gentle trot while Byleth watched her with a stony look on her face.

"I'm not sure what to think," Dimitri muttered.  
  
"I don't know what game Felix's playing but I won't let him use Gyda in it," Byleth growled.

* * *

Dawn had found the small group wide-awake and viewing the detailed map of Fodlan that Dimitri kept in his office.

Gyda was caught, almost hovering, between Byleth and Felix. A physical reminder of the strange battle that was playing out for Gyda's future between the two. Not that the girl seemed to overly notice.

She was more transfixed by the new and strange world she'd found herself in. A world she'd once been a viewer of only from the outskirts, watching with envy while she tried to stay alive in the more visceral wilderness.

"Gyda?"

Her dark blue eyes snapped up to meet Dimitri's who smiled at her kindly. "Any idea of the best place to check first?"

Gyda slowly stepped forward before she tentatively began tracing with light fingertips some of the more familiar landmarks she could at least recognize inked on the large pale vellum.

"Here. Big pack," she finally replied quietly. "They control this area south of the river. Between it and the mountains. They are strong though. They might not listen. Not even to Fenrir."

Byleth sighed. "Well, what about your own family, Gyda? Maybe we should start with them first?"

The young woman blinked before she shook her head and stared at her feet. "There's none to take you to. "

"But you have to have had a family."

"Dead," Gyda replied softly. "Or just gone. Alone now." She suddenly jerked upright, peering at Byleth with intensity ."But I'm useful! I can still help!"

Byleth couldn't stop the deep sympathy that crossed her face. "I know. It's okay Gyda. We'll do this together." She reached out and gripped Gyda's shoulder. "A wolf alone. It's not meant to be that way."

It was Sylvain who finally broke the silence that had fallen. "So... this pack. Do you know them well?"

* * *

After some more brief discussions and a final decision on a plan of action, the midday sun found Byleth hard at work writing her letter to Seteth.

And what a struggle it was.

How to frame her resignation in such a way to stop him traveling to Fhiridad to press her on the issue. She doubted greatly it was possible but still she needed to try.

Normally she'd be looking to Dimitri for help with how to phrase such things; her husband having been raised since birth to be mindful of how words could be interpreted. But he was caught up in the business of state and was locked away with Dedue and Sylvain.

Felix, to all of their surprise, was off in the city dragging Gyda with him in his wake. No one had any idea what they were doing.

He'd left with her as soon as the meeting had finished, grabbing her firmly by the elbow and directing her out of the palace.

Byleth just finished her first (and hopefully only draft) when the pair returned from their excursion with quite a retinue in tow.

"I'm... not sure what to think," she remarked to the scowling Felix when she'd met them in the hall.

"She needed clothing. And other essentials," he muttered, stepping aside as a large number of attendants carrying large boxes and bags moved passed after he gave distinct directions to his rooms.

Gyda herself stood awkwardly to the side, seemingly bemused by everything.

Her braided hair was gleaming and clearly had some of its previous length removed considering the tips now lay just beyond her shoulder blades where previously it had nearly reached her ankles.

Gyda had left that morning wearing a dress from Byleth's own wardrobe, a heavy woolen one in a deep blue with a thick fur collar, and now was standing before Byleth in one of deep red with a thick fur cloak keeping her warm.

She looked quite lost in it, to the point that Byleth reminded herself to make sure the young woman was eating enough.

"Thank you for lending her some of your clothes," Felix remarked, spotting where Byleth's gaze landed. "I've requested that they are returned to your rooms after they've been cleaned."

"You didn't need to do this," Byleth said softly. "I've got too many as it is. Enough for Gyda and I to share permanently."

Felix snorted before he barked, "She can't share clothes when she won't be living here with you."

Byleth grabbed his arm tightly and pulled him closer to whisper in his ear. "She needs a pack... a family. Don't do this, Felix. We can give her that security here with us."

Felix merely shrugged his arm free before he called to Gyda, "Come with me. We best get some food."

* * *

"I fear..." Dimitri rumbled after reading Byleth's letter, "... that Seteth will be coming to Fhiridad. But I believe that will be the case no matter how good or carefully thought out your words are. And this is just that, beloved. Almost perfect."

Byleth grimaced. "I'll be sending it tomorrow. Once it's on its way, I'll be taking Gyda and heading out to find what remains of the Wolfen."

Dimitri couldn't hide the deep concern he felt at her words. "So fast?"

"The sooner we go than the sooner we get back. I... I also think I need to separate Gyda from Felix. He's really digging in his heels over her. The distance might help him reprioritize back to Annette."

"Do you believe he looks at Gyda as a surrogate for you? I mean you are not dissimilar with eye and hair coloring."

Byleth started a little. "I never considered it. I thought we were long passed that."

"The thought crossed my mind on occasion since yesterday. I don't believe Felix has bad intentions for Gyda. He's just being... well, not himself. I'm not sure what's driving it but, as you said, Gyda's not prepared to deal with any of it."

He gently cupped his wife's cheek, stroking it gently. "I don't want you to leave but in your absence, I'll talk to Felix. I'll send word to Annette. See if she can be spared to journey here. I think it will help Felix refocus on the important things."

Byleth buried her face in Dimitri's tunic. "Once this is over, we must go somewhere. Just the three of us. Away from all of this."

"Alone time? I would not complain about that," Dimitri chuckled before he pulled his wife back to stare into her eyes. "Must you set off at first light tomorrow?"

She nodded. "We'll be back. Faster than you know."

* * *

"Do you have enough clothing?"

The sun was barely peeking from beyond the Fhiridad skyline as Byleth reviewed Gyda's human clothing. They both looked like normal travelers on Feargus roads clad as they were in dark color clothes designed to protect against the cold.

"I think so," Gyda replied as she pulled at the thick outer tunic before she settled her hands in a firm grip on the bag tied around her back. "Felix put more in the bag. Along with food and drink. He thought it would be enough."

Byleth gave a tight smile. "I'm sure he's right. Well... shall we get moving?"

After brief farewells, the two set out once more into the wilds.


	17. Tribes

It had taken the best part of three days with almost constant travel by foot to reach this point. The only pauses they took were to set up camp just before sundown for food and rest.

During those moments of peace, Byleth took the opportunity to get to know Gyda more, delving into the girl's troubled past.

Alone since she was eight years old by parents who'd vanished without a trace, Gyda had learned the ways of the Wolfen from the rough and tumble of mistake after mistake. Her many scars were remnants of times when she'd broken some unspoken rule or another. Lone wolves were distrusted and Gyda was decidedly alone.

After a brief search in her youth when she'd traveled almost the full breadth of Fodlan in search of her missing parents, Gyda had returned to the den where she'd been raised and set up her small meager territory. And that is where they had found her after escaping a hunt that had nearly cost her life.

Byleth did not miss how animately she spoke of Felix, of the hope she held in the words he had said to her. Of a home where she would be safe. Of belonging to a family. Byleth had merely smiled, keeping her concerns behind closed lips before she added to Gyda's joy that the girl had a home and family in Fhiridad too. That her years of loneliness were decidedly over.

* * *

After braving the river that served to bound one side of the pack's territory, Byleth and Gyda found themselves deep in woodland with no line of sight that was not interrupted by haphazard trees and overgrowth.  
It was quiet. Almost too quiet but Byleth, having shoved her concerns earlier to the side, pressed on into forest regardless.

"Wait!" Gyda burst out suddenly, reaching out and grabbing Byleth's arm with an urgency that edged almost into a panic.

"Gyda? Is everything alright?"

Her younger companion shook her head, violet tresses drifting across her face as the wind gusted. "Can't you hear them, Fenris? Smell them?"

"Smell who?"

"The others," Gyda growled lowly while her large doe eyes darted around anxiously. "They're here."

Byleth took in their surroundings in the vain hope of seeing what her friend did, cursing internally that she didn't yet have the control that Gyda did over their gift.

A brief flicker of movement caught Byleth's eye. She placed a firm hand on Gyda's shoulder.

"Get behind me," she whispered as the large snarling head of a dire-wolf first emerged from the treeline followed by its impressive body. To her side, Gyda who had ignored her command was bristling, about to transform herself to defend Byleth.

To Gyda's own astonishment, Byleth rushed forward. Before even the wolf could react, Byleth grabbed its fur and watched the intricate seal that was visible only to her crack under her grip.

Sothis's crest that had held this poor creature in one form finally shattered.

A naked older man, with greying temples but still formidable in body, fell to the ground before he eventually sat upright and peered in astonishment at his new form which was to him a strange freedom that was only spoken of as myth.

No words were needed as the hidden wolves emerged from the woods, equally as shocked and all approaching Byleth cautiously, seeking the same release with twitching ears and bowed heads.

* * *

"And that is our tale," Byleth finished with a flourish.

The campfire blazed, so full of fuel that it would likely keep going until long into the night. Seated around the fire in the hastily cleared campsite stood the newly human Wolfen, each naked and desperately attempting to keep warm.

Gyda and Byleth had offered what spare clothes they had only to be spurned. Pride to a fault was going to be a problem with these Wolfen Byleth quickly surmised.

"And how did you end up the lone whelp over there?" was the drawn-out reply to what was now the end of her story.

Gorm - the first Wolfen she'd freed - and the leader of this band, leaned back and waited for her to answer with a slight tilt of his head.

"Gyda? She's mine," Byleth replied.

"Fenris runs with the pack. Not the lone wolf," Gorm spat out.

"She's mine," was Byleth's flat reply. "She does not run alone."

Gorm shrugged. "The girl's known to us. Strayed into our territory before. She knew not to return if she wished to live."

Byleth shot up onto her feet from where she'd crouched near the fire at the vaguely hinted threat.

"Try it," she snarled, with one hand on her sword while she tried to ignore the distant rustle behind her as Gyda stepped backward to the treeline.

Gorm let out a snort. "I've no such intention. If she's yours as you say..." he flickered a gaze over at the hiding woman behind Byleth "... let us cement our bonds. I'll take her as mine. Linking our tribes."

Byleth glared at him. "I can't give you that."

"Or you can't see the benefits right now. You need our strength. But you... you are Fenris. The great wolf spoken of in history. My pack is new. Lots of strength but doesn't have the long history of the others. But if we had a connection to you, the great Fenris, well, our position would be very secure."

* * *

Byleth walked with Gyda in silence on the long road back to Fhiridad.

It had taken almost longer to return home than it had taken to leave but to Byleth's delight, they were now in familiar outskirts with the city being within reach.

The Wolfen would follow in a few days with promises of both sending out messengers to nearby packs and also of hiding themselves among the populace until they reached the palace.

"It's not happening, Gyda," Byleth replied to the question that had hung in the air since they'd broken camp that morning.

"But... this is how it's done, Fenris. How Wolfen make treaties and more pups. I was never worth enough before. But if now I'm worth peace... well, I can hardly complain."

Byleth stopped her suddenly, dragging her companion's gaze to meet hers.

"I said no. I mean no. Unless you choose. For right now, you are free. Don't choose Gorm because you think it would benefit me," Byleth said rapidly. "I wish you to be happy, Gyda. I know that you won't be with Gorm. For now, he gets a no. Understand?"

Gyda nodded with emotions flickering on her face that was unrecognizable to Byleth.The pair pressed on, each pondering internally the consequences of Byleth's decision.

Upon reaching Fhiridad and finally catching sight of the distant palace, Gyda quietly asked "Fenris? I'd like to just wander for a little while. On my own, If that's okay?"

Byleth halted her steps and peered at Gyda who was looking paler than normal. "I'd rather you didn't. But I can't stop you. Just come with me to the palace first. Drop off your things. But you must return before sunset."

* * *

They'd barely stepped into the palace grounds when Felix had emerged from wherever he'd hidden and accosted them.

"There you are!" he barked. "It's been six days. You said it would only take two."

Byleth shrugged. "Long story, Felix. I can explain inside."

Instead of following his queen's lead, Felix grabbed Gyda's arm firmly and began to move her determinedly inside a side door.

"You need food, a bath, and then I've someone to introduce you to. Have you rested yet? Scratch that. You'll take a nap before I introduce you," he said to Gyda alone as he moved forward. Gyda for her part allowed herself to be dragged away, all thoughts she had previously of wandering alone to think now forgotten.

Byleth was soon swallowed up by the bundle of furs, heat and hugs that Dimitri and Nikolai seemed to be composed of. She sighed contentedly as her family, ecstatic at her return, soon had led her within the palace and to their living quarters.

"Sorry," she hummed softly as Dimitri complained between kisses about the length of time she was absent. "It took longer than I thought. Was everything okay here?"

"Seteth called," Dimitri hummed while he frowned at the coldness of her hands before maneuvering her to a seat in front of the fire. "He's gone. Barely stayed two days."

"What did you tell him?"

"That you were gone to see Ingrid during her seclusion. He mentioned Rhea..."

Byleth blinked and swallowed her sudden anxiety. "It's too early for-"

Dimitri pressed his hand gently to her mouth, stopping the words from spilling loose. "It's fine. He was merely mentioning that he can't keep her distracted for too long and that you need to return. I believe he was attempting to keep me onside for your return to the Church."

She smiled, grabbing Dimitri's hand with her own and pressing kisses to it reverently. "The pack will be here before the end of this week. And hopefully, the others will follow suit."

"What then?"

Byleth buried her face in the soft fabric that covered Dimitri's chest, relaxing as his arms surrounded her. "We talk and decide what must come next."


	18. The Threat of War

Byleth sighed in frustration.

Three weeks had passed since the meeting with Gorm's pack.

Since then, the lost tribes of Wolfen had all made their way to her, led by the legend of Fenris and the promise of freedom from Sothis's curse.

And now she sat before the moot, listening with ever dimming hope to the noisy din of near two hundred clamoring voices echoing in the ruins of the old stone hall located in woodland near Fhiridad.

All vying for Byleth's ear and yet few actually deserved it.

In frustration, she suddenly rose to her feet and hammered a nearby shield with the Sword of the Creator, not exactly what Rhea had in mind when she'd first gifted the sword to her all those years ago.

The clanging stilled the crowd and allowed her to finally think in peace before she addressed the mass of hopeful faces before her.

"I understand your demands. Believe me... I understand. In this room stands the far too few descendants of what was once a proud people who stretched from the far northern ranges to the very southern tips of this continent, from the depths of snowy Feargus to the farthest beaches of Adrestia. I know you hurt and grieve and wish most desperately for a chance of justice. But we are so few now and the number will only continue to dwindle if we rush this decision. If you risk war with the Church, with the remains of the Nabateans; well... as it stands right now then you will sentence the Wolfen to die out entirely. I ask of you moderation for now. Take the rest of today and tonight. Return to your families and enjoy their company. In the morning, talk, and discuss what I have said this night. I expect the pack leaders here tomorrow at midday with news of your decision."

Byleth knew her words had not fallen on deaf ears as a ripple of quiet murmurs passed in waves among those assembled as they slowly filed out.

* * *

"it went well then?" Dimitri hummed near her ear as he welcomed her back to their rooms with a warm if not slightly too tight embrace.

"As well as it could. I don't know."

"And they know about the lands north that we are willing to give them?"

"Yes."  
  
"And the concessions to some self-governance if they maintain peace for now?"

Byleth nodded before she huffed, "So bloody few and yet they act as though they are thousands strong. They've forgot that it took only one Nabatean to upturn their world in the first place."

Dimitri grinned. "And no one better than my queen to put them in their place. Have you given any further thought to the Church?"

Byleth slipped free reluctantly from Dimitri before sinking down into a seat near the fire. "I have. I'll be going to Garreg Mach to speak with Seteth personally since he's refused my resignation. I hope that he might be more amenable to negotiation. It's a conversation a long time coming."

Dimitri knelt before her, locking her hands into his tightly. "I wish to go with you."

"I wish you could too."

"But?"

Byleth gave a rueful smile. "But Fódlan can't afford another war that sucks in every town and village. Peace was already hard-won. I won't risk it. If there's going to be a fight, it has to be without the rest of Fódlan. It must be between the Wolfen and what's left of Sothis's children."

* * *

Annette had never felt quite so awkward before in her life.

The girl, Gyda, was very lovely, polite, and quiet in fact. The problem was her soon-to-be husband.

Felix had insisted that they meet, explaining to her that he'd taken on the girl as his ward. She didn't mind at the start. But now they never had any time alone.

He insisted Gyda be present for everything.

Just the previous evening, Annette had suggested dinner, which she hoped would be a prelude to more intimacy with him which was something she sorely missed.

And Felix had immediately fetched Gyda, despite Annette's requests to the contrary.

The girl herself often attempted to extract herself from their company only to find herself confronted by the impossible wall that was Felix.

Through some miracle, Gyda had managed to escape for this afternoon as Byleth had demanded her company on a trip to the nearby tribes. Which left Annette some needed alone time with Felix. She was beginning to regret it immediately.

"Byleth has no right," he growled.

"No right?" Annette answered carefully, seeing her lover's mood was switching wildly since that morning.

"To demand Gyda as her little lapdog. I can see what she's doing. Setting it up to take Gyda on full-time."

Annette gave a reassuring smile. "Is that such a terrible thing, Felix? I mean Gyda seems very much at home here. I know you wish to repay her for saving your life, and Goddess knows how much I owe her for that too... but have you asked Gyda herself what she wishes?"

Felix peered at her with an icy gaze that put Annette on the backfoot. "Do you believe she would want to remain here? Has she said something to you?"

"I didn't say that, Felix. Nor have I had alone time with her to discuss such a thing. I'm just putting it out there that while it's noble to want to help her, perhaps you should ask her what she wants."

Felix dragged himself out of the chair, almost knocking over the small table holding the treats Annette had prepared for them both. He practically stomped his way to the window and gazed out at the wintery landscape.

"Felix?" she broached carefully after what seemed like the longest minute of silence she'd ever endured.

"Yes, Annie?"

"What's happening? I mean... you've been impossible all day. I don't understand!!! Why are you so fixed on Gyda??" she blurted out in rush.

He glanced at Annette over his shoulder, his eyes softening at the sight of her. "The girl has no one. She's alone. Her entire life has been a lurch from one hardship to another... a story written in scars all over her body. Yet she's never let it make her bitter. Certainly not like me at least."

Felix turned his gaze back out over the courtyard. "I want her to have a home with us. To be safe after all these years. I... I wish to keep her safe. Swaddle her up so she never goes through this again."

Annette got carefully to her feet and made her way to the dark shadow that was Felix gazing out the tall window. She pressed herself against his back with hands gingerly wrapping around him. "And this is why I love you. The heart you keep hidden away."

"Hmph." was the grumpy reply.

"And to think that I was beginning to think you were falling in lo-"

Felix's body jerked violently, cutting Annette off mid-sentence.

"What the hell is that?!!" he snarled before taking off at a pace from the room. Annette peered out into the courtyard and immediately chased after Felix.

* * *

"Please!! Please, I just wish to be alone!!" Gyda begged as the others began to surround her.

She'd been followed from the town to here and her hopes that fleeing into the palace grounds would help had not despite her desperate wishes that it would.

Gorm motioned for the others to widen the circle as he took a few steps closer. "You know I could kill you for what you did. I should in fact to maintain our holdings."

Gyda took a step back, desperately glancing around for some way out of her predicament.

"But it doesn't need to be that way," Gorm purred. "I could be a good mate for you. Give you a good home, lots of food, and warmth. We'd have strong pups. What I need from you is-"

"It's not happening. She's not yours. Now get the hell away from her." Every head turned to the new voice as Felix emerged from the side door with a hand on the sword at his side, ready for a fight if needed.

Gorm tilted his head. "Who are you?"

"Duke Felix Hugo Fraldarius. Who are you?"

The Wolfen grinned and outstretched his arms in grand gesture. "Gorm the Fearless. Leader of the fine band you see here. Suitor of Gyda."

"That's where you are wrong. Gyda is not available for suiting."

Felix shoved the nearest Wolfen aside, breaking the circle and motioned to Gyda to move towards him which she did gratefully.

"We'll see, " Gorm replied softly before he turned and strolled out with this pack at his heels.

"Thank you," Gyda whispered.

"Who the hell was that?!" Felix snapped.

"Gorm. A Wolfen," Gyda replied quickly. "He wished to take me as a mate so he can have closer ties to Fenris. A deal yet to be brokered."

Felix's stare narrowed. "And what did your _Fenris _say?"

Gyda blinked in surprise, clearly shocked at the venom in Felix's voice. "... that... that I could choose..." she whispered while taking a couple of steps back in fear.

Annette's heart almost stuttered to a halt as she found herself on the outskirts, watching as her fiancee carefully caught Gyda's hand and dragged the young woman into a firm embrace.

She barely caught his whispered words in Gyda's ear as her heart broke into splinters in her chest.

"Forgive me. My anger is not at you," Felix murmured. "Tell me about this Gorm."

* * *

"Felix!! What the hell are you doing?!!"

Annette nearly jumped out of her skin as Sylvain emerged behind her.

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before turning his anger on Felix who had just released Gyda from his embrace.


End file.
